While we have made huge strides in cancer therapy, a major roadblock is predicting and preventing cancer recurrence. A real-time interactive session at the 2021 ESMO Annual Meeting focused on the controversial topic of how to detect and treat cancer relapse.

In a debate chaired by Jordi Rodon, Associate Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the panelists analyzed the effect of addressing residual disease in solid tumors on overall survival and disease-free cure.

Dr. Rodon set the premise with the caveats that need to be fulfilled for detecting molecular residual disease (MRD) to have favorable outcomes- the ability to predict MRD as a prognostic factor; sensitivity, specificity, and robustness of MRD diagnostics; therapy informed and improved by MRD status. He engaged the audience to know their views on MRD becoming a mainstay of tumor diagnosis and therapy.