Defining the undetectable: The current landscape of minimal residual disease assessment in multiple myeloma and goals for future clarity.

ABSTRACT: Multiple Myeloma, the second most prevalent hematologic malignancy, yet lacks an established curative therapy. However, overall response rate to modern four-drug regimens approaches 100%. Major efforts have thus focused on the measurement of minute quantities of residual disease (minimal residual disease or MRD) for prognostic metrics and therapeutic response evaluation. Currently, MRD is assessed by flow cytometry or by next generation sequencing to track tumor-specific immunoglobulin V(D)J rearrangements. These bone marrow-based methods can reach sensitivity thresholds of the identification of one neoplastic cell in 1,000,000 (10^-6). New technologies are being developed to be used alone or in conjunction with established methods, including peripheral blood-based assays, mass s

SUBMITTER: Diamond BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9928431 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature