A mathematical approach to data evaluation with focus on prediction of minimal residual disease in pediatric ALL

In pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most important prognostic factor for tailoring the intensity of treatment according to the probability of failure is the evaluation of minimal residual disease (MRD) at defined timepoints. One drawback of MRD analyses is that results are not available at diagnosis to guide selection of the optimal treatment intensity already early on. In trial ALL BFM 2000, multi-level patient data were collected and are now used to develop a mathematical approach to predict MRD. For this task, mathematical methods like neuronal networks or Fuzzy logic are applied and rigorous…