Chapter 14 - Monitoring of Minimal Residual Hematologic Disease

Abstract

In recent years, several advances have been made in predicting the outcome in hematologic malignancies, among them measurement of minimal residual disease (MRD). The term was coined to describe a scenario in which the leukemia cells are not eradicated from a patient in clinical remission but are at a level below the sensitivity of classic cytomorphologic methods. Determination of MRD is an evolving field in which the technology and result interpretation are continually being refined. Its detection relies on the presence of a leukemia-specific marker, which should be present in all leukemia cells and remain stable during disease evolution.