{"id":39282,"date":"2026-09-09T21:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T13:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%8d%e8%a6%8b%e7%9a%84%e6%ae%98%e7%95%99%ef%bc%9a%e4%bb%80%e9%ba%bc%e6%98%afmrd%ef%bc%8c%e5%ae%83%e7%82%ba%e4%bd%95%e5%bd%b1%e9%9f%bf%e7%99%8c%e7%97%87%e7%9a%84%e9%95%b7%e6%9c%9f\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T12:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T04:24:18","slug":"what-is-mrd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/what-is-mrd\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is MRD and Why Does It Matter for Long-Term Cancer Management?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. Why Stay Vigilant Even After \u201cComplete Remission\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During cancer treatment, many patients experience encouraging news after surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy: imaging tests show no detectable tumours, laboratory indicators return to normal, and doctors may assess the patient as having achieved complete remission<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, clinical experience shows that not all patients who achieve complete remission remain stable in the long term. Some may still experience cancer recurrence<\/strong> during follow-up. This raises an important question \u2014 where do these tumours come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical research has found that in some patients, a very small number of cancer cells may remain in the body after treatment ends<\/strong>. These cells are so few that they cannot be detected by conventional tests, yet they may later grow again. Such residual cells are known as minimal residual disease (MRD)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A review article published in the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine<\/em> provides a systematic overview of this concept. MRD is not merely a laboratory indicator; it reflects the actual presence and dynamic changes of residual tumour cells in the body<\/strong>. With highly sensitive technologies, MRD monitoring can detect residual disease that conventional examinations cannot identify. It can also help assess treatment effectiveness, evaluate recurrence risk, and guide personalised treatment strategies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings suggest that MRD testing is gradually moving from the research setting into clinical practice, offering new approaches and tools for improving long-term cancer management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. What Is MRD?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MRD refers to the extremely small number of tumour cells or tumour-related molecular signals that remain in the body after standard cancer treatment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These residual disease sites are typically undetectable through routine imaging or standard diagnostic tests<\/strong>. From a biological perspective, however, they are not necessarily inactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MRD is considered one of the potential sources of cancer recurrence<\/strong>, particularly in haematological malignancies<\/strong>. Even when patients achieve clinical complete remission, MRD may persist for long periods and remain closely associated with the risk of relapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the absence of visible tumours does not necessarily mean that all cancer cell<\/a>s have been eliminated from the body<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. How Is MRD Detected?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because MRD exists at extremely low levels, its detection relies on high-sensitivity technologies<\/strong>. The article outlines several key methods currently used to evaluate MRD:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multicolour flow cytometry<\/strong> identifies abnormal cellular immunophenotypes, allowing clinicians to detect residual tumour cells among large populations of normal cells. This method is already widely used in certain blood cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques<\/strong> amplify tumour-specific genetic sequences, enabling the detection of even smaller levels of residual disease. However, this method generally requires the presence of clearly defined molecular markers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next-generation sequencing (NGS)<\/strong> further improves detection sensitivity and provides broader genetic information. It allows researchers to analyse multiple genetic alterations simultaneously, enabling a more comprehensive assessment of residual disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each detection method has its own appropriate applications. In clinical practice, the choice of method depends on the type of disease and the stage of treatment<\/strong>, rather than relying on a single approach for all patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. What Does MRD Mean for Patients?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The significance of MRD lies not in labelling patients, but in identifying risks earlier<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many studies have shown that patients with MRD-positive results generally face a higher risk of recurrence<\/strong> compared with those who are MRD-negative. Through MRD testing, doctors can gain a clearer understanding of the patient\u2019s disease status before recurrence becomes visible on imaging scans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For patients and their families, it is important to understand the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 MRD-positive does not mean the disease has already relapsed<\/strong>
<\/strong> \u2022 MRD-negative does not mean the risk of recurrence has completely disappeared<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MRD functions more like a risk indicator<\/strong>, helping doctors determine whether closer monitoring or more cautious management is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. How Does MRD Influence Treatment Decisions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The clinical value of MRD extends beyond prognosis; it also helps guide treatment strategies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By continuously monitoring MRD status, doctors can identify high-risk patients earlier<\/strong>, allowing them to consider further intervention before the disease shows clear signs of progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, for patients who remain MRD-negative<\/strong>, this information may help avoid unnecessary intensification of treatment and reduce treatment-related side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This MRD-guided dynamic evaluation model<\/strong> means treatment decisions are no longer based solely on whether tumours are visible. Instead, doctors can incorporate molecular-level changes<\/strong> to manage the disease more precisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through monitoring minimal residual disease, physicians may detect potential risks earlier and provide more personalised follow-up plans and treatment strategies<\/strong>. As detection technologies continue to improve, MRD is expected to play a role in a wider range of cancers<\/strong> and gradually become part of routine clinical practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MRD is not a concept designed to create anxiety, but rather a tool that helps doctors and patients anticipate and manage risks earlier<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It reminds us that controlling cancer does not end with \u201cno visible tumour\u201d. It also involves continuous attention to subtle biological changes within the body<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For patients and their families, understanding MRD can help them view treatment outcomes and follow-up care more rationally. For doctors, MRD provides a more refined perspective on disease management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long-term management of cancer, what truly matters is often the part that cannot be seen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medical research has found that in some patients, a very small number of cancer cells may remain in the body after treatment ends. These cells are so few that they cannot be detected by conventional tests, yet they may later grow again. Such residual cells are known as minimal residual disease (MRD).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":37662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1767],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-39282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39285,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39282\/revisions\/39285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39282"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hkioc.com.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=39282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}