Your MRD test results might be critical in shaping your treatment plan and long-term care. By knowing whether any cancer cells remain after treatment, you and your healthcare team can make more informed decisions.

Here’s how your MRD status may guide your care:

Adjusting or Continuing Treatment:

• MRD-Negative: If no residual myeloma cells are detected, your doctor may continue your current therapy, reduce treatment intensity, or even consider stopping certain treatments to limit side effects.
• MRD-Positive: If residual disease is found, your doctor might adjust your treatment by adding or changing medications to target remaining cancer cells.

Evaluating Treatment Effectiveness:

• MRD testing helps determine how well your treatment is working. A shift from MRD-positive to MRD-negative may indicate that your therapy is successfully controlling the disease to a deeper level.

Deciding on the Length of Maintenance Therapy:

• MRD results can help decide whether maintenance therapy should be continued after a set period. MRD-negative (standard-risk) patients might be candidates for shorter or less intense maintenance therapy, while MRD-positive patients may need longer or more aggressive maintenance regimens.

Predicting Risk of Relapse:

• MRD status is one of the best indicators of relapse risk. MRD-negative patients generally have a lower risk of relapse, while MRD-positive patients or those shifting from negative to positive MRD may require closer monitoring and proactive treatment changes.

Guiding Clinical Trial Enrollment:

• MRD testing may qualify you for clinical trials studying new treatments designed for MRD-positive or MRD-negative patients. These trials often explore cutting-edge therapies to prevent relapse or deepen remission.

Personalizing Follow-Up Care:

• MRD status can determine how often you need follow-up tests, scans, or appointments. MRD-negative patients might need less frequent monitoring, while MRD-positive patients may need more regular check-ins.

Remember:

Your MRD results are just one part of your care plan. Your doctor will also consider other factors, like imaging results, blood tests, and how you’re feeling, when making treatment decisions.