A series of molecular abnormalities in smoldering multiple myeloma that are independent predictors of progression to multiple myeloma were accurately identified in a genomic test of bone marrow tissue, according to a study led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1,2 Patients identified with these alterations can be closely monitored or put on a clinical trial intended to halt this progression when they are found to be at an increased risk.
“We found that the genomic alterations with smoldering multiple myeloma are essentially the same as full-fledged myeloma,” Romanos Sklavenitis-Pistofidis, MD, the study co-lead stated in a press release. “This suggests that by the time smoldering multiple myeloma is diagnosed, most of the molecular abnormalities found in myeloma have already occurred.”
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