Transcriptome-wide association study of multiple myeloma identifies candidate susceptibility genes.

Background: While genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of multiple myeloma (MM) have identified variants at 23 regions influencing risk, the genes underlying these associations are largely unknown. To identify candidate causal genes at these regions and search for novel risk regions, we performed a multi-tissue transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS).

Results: GWAS data on 7319 MM cases and 234,385 controls was integrated with Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) data assayed in 48 tissues (sample sizes, N = 80-491), including lymphocyte cell lines and whole blood, to predict gene expression.

Author Correction: Identification of multiple risk loci and regulatory mechanisms influencing susceptibility to multiple myeloma.

The original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of a member of the PRACTICAL Consortium, Manuela Gago-Dominguez, which was incorrectly given as Manuela Gago Dominguez. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article. Furthermore, in the original HTML version of this Article, the order of authors within the author list was incorrect.

Genetic correlation between multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia provides evidence for shared aetiology.

The clustering of different types of B-cell malignancies in families raises the possibility of shared aetiology. To examine this, we performed cross-trait linkage disequilibrium (LD)-score regression of multiple myeloma (MM) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) genome-wide association study (GWAS) data sets, totalling 11,734 cases and 29,468 controls. A significant genetic correlation between these two B-cell malignancies was shown (R = 0.

A multiple myeloma classification system that associates normal B-cell subset phenotypes with prognosis.

Despite the recent progress in treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), it is still an incurable malignant disease, and we are therefore in need of new risk stratification tools that can help us to understand the disease and optimize therapy. Here we propose a new subtyping of myeloma plasma cells (PCs) from diagnostic samples, assigned by normal B-cell subset associated ene signatures (BAGS). For this purpose, we combined fluorescence-activated cell sorting and gene expression profiles from normal bone marrow (BM) Pre-BI, Pre-BII, immature, naïve, memory, and PC subsets to generate BAGS for assignment of normal BM subtypes in diagnostic samples.

Identification of multiple risk loci and regulatory mechanisms influencing susceptibility to multiple myeloma.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed our understanding of susceptibility to multiple myeloma (MM), but much of the heritability remains unexplained. We report a new GWAS, a meta-analysis with previous GWAS and a replication series, totalling 9974 MM cases and 247,556 controls of European ancestry. Collectively, these data provide evidence for six new MM risk loci, bringing the total number to 23.

Genome-wide association study identifies multiple susceptibility loci for multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy with a significant heritable basis. Genome-wide association studies have transformed our understanding of MM predisposition, but individual studies have had limited power to discover risk loci. Here we perform a meta-analysis of these GWAS, add a new GWAS and perform replication analyses resulting in 9,866 cases and 239,188 controls.

Phase 2 study of carfilzomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone as induction/consolidation therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

This multicenter phase 2 study of the European Myeloma Network investigated the combination of carfilzomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (KTd) as induction/consolidation therapy for transplant-eligible patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma (N = 91). During KTd induction therapy, patients received 4 cycles of carfilzomib 20/27 mg/m(2) (n = 50), 20/36 mg/m(2) (n = 20), 20/45 mg/m(2) (n = 21), or 20/56 mg/m(2) (n = 20) on days 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16 of a 28-day cycle; thalidomide 200 mg on days 1 to 28; and dexamethasone 20 mg on days 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16. After autologous stem cell transplantation, patients proceeded to KTd consolidation therapy, where the target doses of carfilzomib were 27 mg/m(2), 36 mg/m(2), 45 mg/m(2), or 56 mg/m(2), respectively, and thalidomide 50 mg.

A gene expression based predictor for high risk myeloma treated with intensive therapy and autologous stem cell rescue.

Myeloma is characterized by a highly variable clinical outcome. Despite the effectiveness of high-dose therapy, 15% of patients relapse within 1 year. We show that these cases also have a significantly shorter post-relapse survival compared to the others (median 14.

High cereblon expression is associated with better survival in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma treated with thalidomide maintenance.

Recently, cereblon (CRBN) expression was found to be essential for the activity of thalidomide and lenalidomide. In the present study, we investigated whether the clinical efficacy of thalidomide in multiple myeloma is associated with CRBN expression in myeloma cells. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were included in the HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial, in which postintensification treatment in 1 arm consisted of daily thalidomide (50 mg) for 2 years.

Bortezomib induction and maintenance treatment in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: results of the randomized phase III HOVON-65/ GMMG-HD4 trial.

Purpose: We investigated whether bortezomib during induction and maintenance improves survival in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM).

Patients And Methods: In all, 827 eligible patients with newly diagnosed symptomatic MM were randomly assigned to receive induction therapy with vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (VAD) or bortezomib, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (PAD) followed by high-dose melphalan and autologous stem-cell transplantation. Maintenance consisted of thalidomide 50 mg (VAD) once per day or bortezomib 1.

General aspects and mechanisms of peripheral neuropathy associated with bortezomib in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Introduction of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, The Takeda Oncology Company, Cambridge, MA) has substantially improved outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and has become one of the cornerstones of current anti-myeloma treatment regimens. However, with the introduction of bortezomib it has become clear that peripheral neuropathy (PN) is one of the most frequent, potentially disabling, nonhematologic complications of bortezomib, often requiring dose modification or discontinuation, with a potential negative impact on clinical endpoints and quality of life. To find a balance between maximal benefit of bortezomib treatment, while maintaining quality of life, it is necessary to minimize toxicity.

Cancer testis antigens in newly diagnosed and relapse multiple myeloma: prognostic markers and potential targets for immunotherapy.

Background: In multiple myeloma, expression of cancer testis antigens may provide prognostic markers and potential targets for immunotherapy. Expression at relapse has not yet been evaluated for a large panel of cancer testis antigens which can be classified by varying expression in normal tissue: restricted to testis, expressed in testis and brain and not restricted but selectively expressed in testis.

Design And Methods: Evaluation of cancer testis antigen expression was made in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma cases (HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial; n = 320) and in relapse cases (APEX, SUMMIT, CREST trials; n = 264).

Mechanisms of peripheral neuropathy associated with bortezomib and vincristine in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a prospective analysis of data from the HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial.

Background: Bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy is a dose-limiting toxicity in patients with multiple myeloma, often requiring adjustment of treatment and affecting quality of life. We investigated the molecular profiles of early-onset (within one treatment cycle) versus late-onset (after two or three treatment cycles) bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy and compared them with those of vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy during the induction phase of a prospective phase 3 trial.

Methods: In the induction phase of the HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial, patients (aged 18-65 years) with newly diagnosed Salmon and Durie stage 2 or 3 multiple myeloma were randomly assigned to three cycles of bortezomib-based or vincristine-based induction treatment.

Gene expression profiling for molecular classification of multiple myeloma in newly diagnosed patients.

To identify molecularly defined subgroups in multiple myeloma, gene expression profiling was performed on purified CD138(+) plasma cells of 320 newly diagnosed myeloma patients included in the Dutch-Belgian/German HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial. Hierarchical clustering identified 10 subgroups; 6 corresponded to clusters described in the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) classification, CD-1 (n = 13, 4.1%), CD-2 (n = 34, 1.

Influence of genetic polymorphisms in CYP3A4, CYP3A5, GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and MDR1 genes on survival and therapy-related toxicity in multiple myeloma.

We investigated the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes encoding for drug-metabolizing enzymes in 209 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients included in a clinical trial comparing single with double intensive therapy. We observed no significant association between polymorphisms in CYP3A4, CYP3A5, MDR1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 and outcome either after treatment with induction chemotherapy or after high-dose therapy.

Gene expression profiling and correlation with outcome in clinical trials of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib.

The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of prospective pharmacogenomics research in multicenter international clinical trials of bortezomib in multiple myeloma and to develop predictive classifiers of response and survival with bortezomib. Patients with relapsed myeloma enrolled in phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials of bortezomib and consented to genomic analyses of pretreatment tumor samples. Bone marrow aspirates were subject to a negative-selection procedure to enrich for tumor cells, and these samples were used for gene expression profiling using DNA microarrays.