Sequencing MRD

A group at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has developed a high throughput sequencing platform to detect minimal residual disease in patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that could be more accurate and cost effective than current approaches. The team has spun out Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. to develop the technology.

Previous T-ALL studies have shown that minimal residual disease (MRD), or cancer cells that remain in circulation following treatment, can be a good indicator of patient outcomes and risk of relapse. Current strategies to detect MRD-flow cytometry and quantitative PCR-each measure the amount of cancer cells remaining in the blood or bone marrow after treatment, but both have limitations, according to Adaptive cofounder and Fred Hutchinson associate member Harlan Robins...