Table 1.

Comparison of different techniques to detect MRD in MCL

Method	MFC	Consensus PCR	Nested PCR	RQ-PCR	HTS
Target	Immunophenotype	IGH rearrangement or t(11;14)	IGH rearrangement or t(11;14)	IGH rearrangement or t(11;14)	IGH rearrangement
Reproducible detection limit	10−3 to 10−4 (4-color MFC)	IGH: 10−2 to 10−3	10−5	10−5	Up to 10−6 (dependent on DNA amount)
	10−4 (8-color MFC)	t(11;14): 10−4
Level of information	Quantitative (above detection limit)	Qualitative	Qualitative	Quantitative (above limit of quantification)	Quantitative (above detection limit)
Patient-specific PCR primer needed	Not applicable	No	Depending on approach	Yes	No
Patient applicability in advanced-stage MCL	>85%	>95%	>85%	>85%	No data yet
Expertise	High for 6- to 8-color MFC	Lower	High	High	High
Standardization	No	No	No	Yes	No
Turnaround time	3-4 h	3-4 h	Dependent on method; mostly 3-4 h	2 wk	1 wk
Advantages	Rapid quantification	Rapid and robust	No establishment of serial dilution for quantification needed	High sensitivity; greatest interlaboratory reproducibility; regular quality control rounds	High sensitivity; independent of patient-specific primers; additional information on background B-cell repertoire
Disadvantages	Low sensitivity; expertise needed for evaluation; not standardized	Low sensitivity; unspecific amplification possible; no quantification	Not quantitative; not standardized	ASO primer design necessary; time-consuming workflow	Super multiplex PCR (disproportional target amplification possible); discrimination from normal cell background (requires about 5% tumor cell infiltration); complex bioinformatic evaluation

IGH, immunoglobulin heavy chain gene.