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Gene Expression Profiling in Multiple Myeloma
Defining high-risk status
It is important to define the risk status of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), especially high-risk patients, according to a study of 1,217 patients with MM. Researchers found:
• Bortezomib significantly improved the progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the MS subgroup.
• Thalidomide and bortezomib positively affected the PFS of low-risk cases defined by the GEP70 signature; high-risk cases showed no significant changes in outcome.
• The t(11;14) containing CD-1 and CD-2 subgroups showed clear differences in time to response and cumulative response rates but similar PFS and OS.
• Complete remission was not significantly associated with the outcome of the MF subgroup or high-risk cases.
• High-risk cases were enriched in the MF, MS and PR subgroups but the poor outcome of these groups was not linked to subgroup specific characteristics.
Citation: Weinhold N, Heuck C, Rosenthal A, et al. The clinical value of molecular subtyping multiple myeloma using gene expression profiling. [Published online ahead of print November 3, 2015]. Leukemia. doi: 10.1038/leu.2015.309.