How close are we to incorporating measurable residual disease into clinical practice for acute myeloid leukemia?

Assessment of measurable residual disease, also called “minimal residual disease,” in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in morphological remission provides powerful prognostic information and complements pretreatment factors such as cytogenetics and genomic alterations. Based on data that low levels of persistent or recurrent residual leukemia are consistently associated with an increased risk of relapse and worse long-term outcomes, its routine assessment has been recommended by some experts and consensus guidelines. In addition to providing important prognostic information, the detection of measurable residual disease may also theoretically help to determine the optimal post-remission strategy for an individual patient. However, the full therapeutic implications of measurable residual disease are uncertain and thus controversy exists as to whether it should be routinely incorporated into clinical practice. While some evidence supports the use of allogeneic stem cell transplantation or hypomethylating agents for some subgroups of patients in morphological remission but with detectable residual leukemia, the appropriate use of this information in making clinical decisions remains largely speculative at present. To resolve this pressing clinical issue, several ongoing studies are evaluating measurable residual disease-directed treatments in acute myeloid leukemia and may lead to new, effective strategies for patients in these circumstances. This review examines the common technologies used in clinical practice and in the research setting to detect residual leukemia, the major clinical studies establishing the prognostic impact of measurable residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia, and the potential ways, both now and in the future, that such testing may rationally guide therapeutic decision-making.