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Glossary beginning with B

A glossary of terms.
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B

Bands

Immature neutrophils.

Basophil

A type of white cell involved in inflammatory and allergic responses, elevated counts are thought to play a role in CML.

BCR

A normal gene located at the 'breakpoint cluster region' on chromosome 22.

Bcr-Abl1

The protein transcribed by the BCR-ABL1 gene that signals for a continuous division of Ph+ cells. It displays high protein tyrosine kinase activity (this activity is due to the Abl1 half of the protein). The unregulated expression of Bcr-Abl1 activates other proteins that are involved in cell cycling and cell division.

Bilirubin

A yellow fluid produced in the liver. Elevated bilirubin levels can cause a condition called jaundice in which the eyes and skin appear yellow, urine becomes very dark and feces are light. There are two measures of bilirubin: Total Bilirubin, which measures the amount of bilirubin in the bloodstream and Direct Bilirubin, which measures the amount of bilirubin made in the liver. Normal total bilirubin levels range from .20 mg/dL to 1.50 mg/dL. Normal direct bilirubin levels range from .00 mg/dL to .03 mg/dL

Blast Cells

Immature cells such as myeoblasts and lymphoblasts develop into mature white blood cells. Represent about 1 to 5 % of normally developing marrow cells.

Blast Phase/Blast Crisis

The third most severe phase of CML lasting from 3 to 6 months; characterized by high white cells count; decreased platelet count and the presence of more that 30% myeloblasts in peripheral blood, although in some cases there are a majority of lymphoid rather than myeloid blast cells.

Bone marrow

A spongy tissue in the hollow central cavity of the bones where blood cells are formed from stem cells.

Bone marrow biopsy

A method of removing a small sample of bone marrow from the body to have it examined under a microscope and possibly analyzed by other tests.

Bosulif

The commercial name for bosutinib.

Bosutinib

Bosutinib differs from other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) due to its dual inhibition of BCR-ABL1 and SRC family kinases, providing efficacy against certain BCR-ABL1 mutations resistant to first-generation TKIs like imatinib. It lacks significant activity against KIT or PDGFR, minimizing off-target effects.

bosutinib

A 3rd generation Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) effective in the treatment of Ph+CML.

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