RESUMO
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Patients with acute myeloid leukemia typically are monitored with bone marrow biopsy 7-10 days after completion of induction therapy. However, this test has relatively poor sensitivity and specificity for classifying patients likely to have long-term cure or even patients who will need additional therapy to achieve complete remission. Several new methods of assessing response are being studied and are summarized in this review. RECENT FINDINGS: Many new methods are being used to evaluate response assessment. Emerging data suggest that various types of clinical, chemical, and imaging biomarkers, as well as more sensitive techniques to measure minimal residual disease, can all help provide more accurate response assessment and prognostic information. SUMMARY: New techniques will improve the way we assess response to acute myeloid leukemia therapy. Larger confirmatory studies utilizing these novel markers of response to change treatment and to improve clinical outcomes are urgently needed.