[Overview of Current Status of Clinical Development by Molecular Residual Disease(MRD)]

In October 2024, "Japan society of clinical oncology position paper on appropriate clinical use of molecular residual disease( MRD)testing"was issued. MRD is defined as"molecular residual disease detected by the detection of circulating tumor DNA(ctDNA)prior to the appearance of clinical, biologic, or radiologic evidence of recurrence after curative resection" and has been strongly associated with recurrence after curative resection across multiple cancer types. The attempt to develop personalized perioperative treatment based on MRD testing has been called the"liquid revolution", and competition for development is intensifying worldwide. The MRD testing is expected to be a game changer not only in terms of its validity in predicting recurrence, but also in terms of changing the framework of clinical trials for perioperative treatment development and further promoting the development of new therapies. This paper presents the current status and discusses the near future of clinical development based on MRD testing.