Abstract
Formal criteria for assessment of treatment response for patients with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia (WM) were first proposed by a consensus panel during the Second International Workshop on WM in 2003 (Weber D, Treon SP, Emmanouilides C, Branagan AR, Byrd JC, Blade J, Kimby E. Uniform response criteria in Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia: consensus panel recommendations from the Second International Workshop on Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinaemia. Semin Oncol 2003;30:127–131). New biological knowledge and new treatment paradigms have made updates necessary, both for clinicians and authorities, especially for evaluation, approval and remuneration of new drugs. The most updated consensus panel response definitions include evaluation of the monoclonal immunoglobulin M in serum, the tumour burden in bone marrow and in extramedullary sites and symptoms of disease. The value of quantitative assessment of the tumour in bone marrow, imaging techniques for extramedullary/nodal disease and assessment of haematological response is still under discussion.
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