Synovial tissue biopsy analysis: unlocking the hidden secrets to personalised medicine?

• Main Author: Helen Michelle McGettrick
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019-04-01
• Series: Arthritis Research & Therapy
• Subjects: Synovial biopsy; Rheumatoid arthritis; Synovial tissue analysis; Standardisation; Fibroblast; STB
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13075-019-1871-5

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the synovium. Yet we still lack robust tissue-specific (synovial) biomarkers that are able to guide clinical decisions and stratify patients according to their disease subgroup and predicted response to treatment. The EULAR Synovitis Study Group and the OMERACT synovial tissue biopsy (STB) Special Interests Group have undertaken a consensus exercise to identify factors that are important for the standardisation of STB handling and analytical procedures in two situations—clinical practice and translational research.