Dr. Shadman on the Role of MRD in CLL

Mazyar Shadman, MD, a physician and associate professor in the Divisions of Medical Oncology and Clinical Research at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

In the post-chemotherapy era, MRD primarily applies to venetoclax (Venclexta)-based regimens, according to Shadman. However, it's important to understand that standard treatment strategies are not based on MRD status, Shadman adds; however, there is currently a lot of academic interest in the marker, so its role in the paradigm may become more pronounced in the future.

Currently, in a clinical setting, Shadman utilizes FDA-approved standards of care. For example, when using a combination of venetoclax and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in the frontline setting, treatment should be stopped at 1 year, Shadman explains. Although data from the phase 3 CLL14 trial (NCT02242942) indicated that MRD may have predictive value, it shouldn't currently be changing treatment approaches, Shadman concludes.