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ASH 2020 | Circulating plasma cell levels as a prognostic biomarker in myeloma

Stefania Oliva, MD, GIMEMA, European Myeloma Network, Italy, outlines the findings of a study of circulating plasma cell (CPC) levels as a prognostic biomarker in multiple myeloma. High CPC levels are considered predictive of aggressive disease and poor outcomes, but data on the predictive cutoff point is lacking. Newly diagnosed myeloma patients participating in the FORTE trial (NCT02203643) had CPC levels counted at diagnosis by flow cytometry and the optimal CPC cut-off to predict survival, based on progression-free survival (PFS) at 36 months, was calculated as 0.07%. Thus, 32% of the cohort were classified at high-CPC, in comparable proportions across different arms of the trial. Multivariate analysis found high CPC to be associated with reduced PFS, worse overall survival, and ISS stage II/III disease. Overall, high CPC was shown to be a strong, independent high-risk factor in myeloma. This interview took place during the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2020.