Gene expression profiling improves accuracy of risk stratification in MM

Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, Netherlands, shares the findings of an analysis of the importance of gene expression profiling in multiple myeloma patients at diagnosis, for identification of high-risk patients requiring selective treatment regimens. Six cohorts were pooled, giving 800 myeloma patients available for analysis. Patients were stratified into three risk groups, which were further divided based on the presence or absence of high-risk iFISH markers. 169 patients were defined as high-risk (based on SKY92). This study highlights problems with current risk stratification methods, as not identifying high-risk patients could impact their clinical strategy and efficacy conclusions of novel therapies in clinical trials. This interview took place during the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2020.