Background: Deeper depth of response (DpR) after induction therapy, especially gain of negative minimal residual disease (MRD), has been linked to prolonged survival in multiple myeloma (MM). However, flow-MRD examination focuses on the numbers but not on the biological characteristics of residual plasma cells (PCs).
Objectives: To explore whether the genetic features of residual tumor cells affect the survival time of patients with MM.
Design: A retrospective cohort study.
Methods: We investigated the clonality of cytogenetic abnormalities (CAs) of the residual PCs using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (iFISH) in the National Longitudinal Cohort of Hematological Diseases in China (NCT04645199). Here, a longitudinal cohort of 269 patients with patient-paired diagnostic and post-induction iFISH results was analyzed.
Results: Persistent CAs after induction therapy were detected in about half of the patients (118/269, 43%), and patients with undetectable CAs showed significantly improved survival compared with those with genetically detectable MRD [median progression-free survival (mPFS): 59.7 versus 35.7 months, p < 0.001; median overall survival (mOS): 97.1 versus 68.8 months, p = 0.011]. In addition, different patterns of therapy-induced clonal evolution were observed by comparing the clonal structure of residual PCs with paired baseline samples. Patients who maintained at a high risk during follow-up had the worst survival (mPFS: 30.5 months; mOS: 54.4 months), while those who returned to lower risk or had iFISH- at both time points had the best survival (mPFS: 62.0 months, mOS: not reached).
Conclusion: These findings highlighted the prognostic value of genetic testing in residual tumor cells, which may provide a deep understanding of clonal evolution and guide clinical therapeutic strategies.
Keywords: clonal evolution; interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization; minimal residual disease; multiple myeloma; prognosis.
Study using fluorescence in situ hybridization (iFISH) to investigate the clonality of cytogenetic abnormalities of the residual plasma cells in multiple myeloma Gain of negative minimal residual disease (MRD) has been linked to prolonged survival in cancer treatment. However, in multiple myeloma (MM), detection of MRD-negativity (MRD-) using multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) only reflects the quantitative characteristics of residual plasma cells (PCs), while the biological and genetic features of MRD are neglected. To address this gap, our study has employed interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (iFISH) to evaluate the clonality of cytogenetic abnormalities (CAs) of the bone marrow residual PCs after induction therapy, in combined with MRD detection by MFC to predict the prognosis of MM patients. A total of 396 patients from the database of National Longitudinal Cohort of Hematological Diseases in China (ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT04645199) were enrolled. Persistent CAs after induction therapy were detected in about half of the patients (118/269, 43%), and patients with undetectable CAs showed significantly improved survival compared with those without genetically detectable MRD. In addition, different patterns of therapy-induced clonal evolution were observed by comparing the clonal structure of residual PCs with paired baseline samples. And therapy-induced clonal evolution exerted a significant impact on patient outcomes. These findings highlighted the importance of genetic testing of residual tumor cells after induction therapy, which may represent a reliable complementary technique for flow-MRD detection and provide a further understanding of clonal evolution.
© The Author(s), 2024.