Dr. Jan A. Burger on Role of MRD-Negativity in CLL

Jan A. Burger, MD, PhD, associate professor, department of leukemia, division of cancer medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the role of minimal residual disease (MRD)-negativity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

With chemoimmunotherapy understanding MRD status was very beneficial, but it is not yet known what the role of MRD-negativity is with the new agents now available in CLL, says Burger.

With the tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) MRD-negativity is not often achieved, yet patients still do well. The concern is, what role will residual disease play? More needs to be studied regarding the biology of the cells that are left behind, says Burger. With the new agents, understanding the role of MRD-negativity is more complex, he adds.