Making clinical decisions based on measurable residual disease improves the outcome in multiple myeloma.

The assessment of measurable residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow has proven of prognostic relevance in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Nevertheless, and unlike other hematologic malignancies, the use of MRD results to make clinical decisions in MM has been underexplored to date. In this retrospective study, we present the results from a multinational and multicenter series of 400 patients with MRD monitoring during front-line therapy with the aim of exploring how clinical decisions made based on those MRD results affected outcomes. As expected, achievement of MRD negativity at any point was associated with improved PFS versus persistent MRD positivity (median PFS 104 vs. 45 months, p < 0.0001). In addition, however, 67 out of 400 patients underwent a clinical decision (treatment discontinuation, intensification or initiation of a new therapy) based on MRD results. Those patients in whom a treatment change was made showed a prolonged PFS in comparison with those 333 patients in which MRD results were not acted upon (respectively, mPFS 104 vs. 62 months, p = 0.005). In patients who achieved MRD negativity during maintenance (n = 186) on at least one occasion, stopping therapy in 24 patients vs. continuing in 162 did not alter PFS (mPFS 120 months vs. 82 months, p = 0.1). Most importantly, however, in patients with a positive MRD during maintenance (n = 214), a clinical decision (either intensification or change of therapy) (n = 43) resulted in better PFS compared to patients in whom no adjustment was made (n = 171) (mPFS NA vs. 39 months, p = 0.02). Interestingly, there were no significant differences when MRD was assessed by flow cytometry or by next-generation sequencing. Herein, we find that MRD is useful in guiding clinical decisions during initial therapy and has a positive impact on PFS in MM patients. This potentially opens a new dimension for the use of MRD in MM, but this role still remains to be confirmed in prospective, randomized clinical trials.

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© 2021. The Author(s).