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Methods and role of minimal residual disease after stem cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 54, pages 681–690 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Relapse is the major cause of treatment failure after stem cell transplantation. Despite the fact that relapses occurred even if transplantation was performed in complete remission, it is obvious that minimal residual disease is present though not morphologically evident. Since adaptive immunotherapy by donor lymphocyte infusion or other novel cell therapies as well as less toxic drugs, which can be used after transplantation, the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) has become a clinical important variable for outcome. Besides the increasing options to treat MRD, the most advanced technologies currently allow to detect residual malignant cells with a sensitivity of 10−5 to 10−6.

Under the patronage of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) the 3rd workshop was held on 4/5 November 2016 in Hamburg/Germany, with the aim to present an up-to-date status of epidemiology and biology of relapse and to summarize the currently available options to prevent and treat post-transplant relapse. Here the current methods and role of minimal residual disease for myeloid and lymphoid malignancies are summarized.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Marco Ladetto, Sebastian Böttcher, Nicolaus Kröger, Michael A. Pulsipher, Peter Bader

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Az Ospedaliera Santi Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy

    Marco Ladetto

  2. Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany

    Sebastian Böttcher

  3. Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Nicolaus Kröger

  4. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, California, USA

    Michael A. Pulsipher

  5. Medical Center of the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Peter Bader

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  1. Marco Ladetto
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  2. Sebastian Böttcher
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  3. Nicolaus Kröger
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  4. Michael A. Pulsipher
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  5. Peter Bader
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Correspondence to Nicolaus Kröger.

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Ladetto, M., Böttcher, S., Kröger, N. et al. Methods and role of minimal residual disease after stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 54, 681–690 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-018-0307-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-018-0307-1

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