What does “complete remission” and “measurable residual disease” mean?

Dr. Sandra Kurtin, an expert on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), explains the terms complete remission and measurable residual disease. Complete remission means that less than 5 percent of blood-forming cells in the bone marrow are blasts. There are no blasts in the blood and the numbers of white cells, red cells and platelets are normal. However, sensitive tests may find some abnormal cells left in the blood or bone marrow, even if they cannot be seen.