ASH 2020 | Using the immune microenvironment to predict progression from myeloma precursors
Elisabet Manasanch, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, outlines the findings of a prospective observational trial that investigated genomic and immunological factors that predict progression from multiple myeloma precursor conditions to symptomatic myeloma. Patients with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) and smoldering myeloma (SMM) were followed for a median of 24 months. Flow cytometric analysis of bone marrow samples and genome sequencing found that the composition of the microenvironment, immune gene expression, and immune checkpoint expression were notably different in patients with progressive versus stable disease. Clustering analysis of tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment showed that nearly all patients who progressed fitted into distinct clusters that could be used to predict the risk of disease progression. This interview took place during the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2020.
