Is MRD Useful in CLL

On July 1, 2016 the EMA approved the use of undetectable MRD in CLL patients as an intermediate endpoint for licensure in well controlled clinical trials. The evidence for MRD as an intermediate endpoint is primarily based on studies using harmonised multicolour flow cytometry protocols developed by an international collaboration led by the European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC). The flow cytometry 4-color-based approach has become the gold standard in prospective clinical trials. In more recent work by the ERIC (Rawstron et al, Leukemia, 2016), a simplified 6-color, one-tube version of the protocol has been reported and compared to Next Generation Sequencing Techniques showing the potential for the latter to become the reference technique in the near future.
Source: Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research