There are many questions surrounding minimal residual disease (MRD) detection and its role in decision making; for example, whether drug administration should be continued in a multiple myeloma (MM) patient who is MRD negative, or whether to change the treatment given if a patient is MRD positive. Here, Niels van de Donk, MD, PhD, of VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, speaking from the 23rd congress of European Hematology Association (EHA) 2018, held in Stockholm, Sweden, discusses the importance of MRD negative complete remission, and how clinical trials such as POLLUX (NCT02076009) and CASTOR (NCT02136134) have established that MRD negative patients have a greater progression-free survival.
