A recent Spanish study adds important findings to the growing literature about the measurement and significance of minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma.

Myeloma patients are said to have minimal residual disease if, after having responded well to treatment, they nevertheless continue to have myeloma cells in their bodies.

In their study, the Spanish researchers used a sensitive new technique known as deep sequencing to conduct minimal residual disease testing. They used the technique to test for residual disease in bone marrow samples from myeloma patients who had completed their first line …

The results of two recent European studies provide new insights into minimal residual disease detection and its potential value in the treat­ment of multiple myeloma.

The first study, carried out in Spain, used two different methods to detect mini­mal residual disease (MRD) in myeloma patients.  The study found that the two methods led to similar results, and that MRD levels may be a better predictor of patient prognosis than traditional measures of treat­ment response.

The second study was conducted by researchers in Britain using data from a large clinical trial carried out …