Flicking the switch in myeloma MRD

In this issue of Blood, Paiva et al1 report that serial monitoring of measurable residual disease (MRD) during maintenance treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) captures dynamic conversion between negative (MRD-) and positive (MRD+) states and robustly anticipates progression-free survival (PFS). They show the feasibility of longer-term MRD monitoring and provide a rationale for trials that investigate intervention before frank relapse.

Automated summary

In their study, Paiva et al1 demonstrate that serial monitoring of measurable residual disease (MRD) during maintenance treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) can capture the dynamic conversion between negative (MRD-) and positive (MRD+) states, and can robustly predict progression-free survival (PFS). They also show the feasibility of longer-term MRD monitoring, providing a rationale for trials investigating intervention before frank relapse.