Dr. Shaji Kumar on MRD in Multiple Myeloma

Shaji Kumar, MD, professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, discusses how minimal residual disease (MRD) testing has evolved in multiple myeloma.

The concept of MRD testing has been around for a long time in hematological malignancies, mainly in chronic myeloid leukemia (CLL), which has a very defined disease-related genetic change, says Kumar. However, it has been different in other diseases that are more heterogeneous, he says.

Now more effective treatment combinations are available that can produce very high response rates in multiple myeloma. The current response criteria do not adequately provide the ability to understand and measure those deep responses and compare them between trials, says Kumar.

To clarify best practices, the International Myeloma Working Group recently released updated consensus criteria for response and MRD assessment in multiple myeloma.