Therapeutic Response Monitoring: Minimal Residual Disease Testing in Cancer Management

Abstract

Shu-Ti Lin and Chen Yeh*

Clinicians are tasked with monitoring drug treatment effects to ensure safe and effective therapy. While monitoring response to treatment is vital in cancer management, reliable biomarkers for non-invasive, longitudinal, and real-time evaluations are still challenging to find. Often, monitoring is done inappropriately—too much, too little, or at the wrong time-and isn’t always targeted at clinically useful parameters. Moreover, monitoring involves more than objective laboratory tests; it requires patient participation through reporting clinical response signals.

Innovative cancer research is focused on identifying biomarkers with diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, and therapeutic value. Developing accurate and robust cancer biomarkers is important for precision diagnostics and personalized treatment. These biomarkers should be used to assess therapeutic intervention efficiency, allowing early detection of therapy response, treatment failure, and disease progression or relapse. Detailed on-treatment biomarker monitoring is essential for personalized medicine. This article reviews some principles of minimal residual disease testing for therapeutic response monitoring, aiming to enhance benefits, reduce adverse events, and lower costs.