The PCR game--is your head spinning yet?

[Guest guest]

If people didn't already think that PCR numbers were confusing, I

think we all confirmed it for them yesterday

It would really be nice if PCR's were standardized and less confusing

but then it would be even nicer if we didn't have CML and didn't have

to worry about them at all.

The lab I use now doesn't give any numbers, not a whole number or a

percentage, it just gives the bottom line which is the log reduction

and that is quite easy to understand. It's too bad that other labs

don't make it easier to understand.

The best thing I could suggest to people who get obscure numbers

reported to them, is ask your doctor (or the lab), what the end

result is. In other words, let them to the calculations and tell you

what kind of a log reduction you have. They should have all the

information they need (what the baseline figure is etc) so they

should be able to figure it out. All you really want to know is what

your log reduction is and from that you can gauge how well your

treatment is going.

Tracey