Publications by authors named "Irene M Ghobrial"

Early therapeutic intervention in high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma (HR-SMM) has shown benefits, however, no studies have assessed whether biochemical progression or response depth predicts long-term outcomes. The single-arm I-PRISM phase II trial (NCT02916771) evaluated ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in 55 patients with HR-SMM. The primary endpoint, median progression-free survival (PFS), was not reached (NR) (95% CI: 57.

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Detection of light chain (LC) monoclonal gammopathies (MG) traditionally relies on serum free LC (FLC) κ, λ, and their ratio (κ/λ) reference ranges based on a mostly White population. We investigated FLC values in a racially diverse population by screening 10,035 individuals for heavy chain MG, identifying 9,028 negative cases whose FLC were measured. Participants included 4,149 from the PROMISE Study (US, n=2,383; South Africa, n=1,766) and 4,879 from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, with 44% self-identifying as Black.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells and develops over many years, becoming more complex with various genetic changes and an immune-suppressing environment.
  • - Advanced stages of the disease exhibit mechanisms that help tumors evade treatment, particularly against T cell-based therapies like bispecific antibodies and CAR-T cells.
  • - Researchers are conducting numerous clinical trials to explore the effectiveness and safety of these therapies for new and high-risk cases of multiple myeloma and are also looking into early treatment options to prevent disease progression.
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  • The term 'precancer' describes an early stage of abnormal cell development that diverges from normal tissue due to specific molecular and phenotypic changes, making these cells less reliant on typical growth signals.
  • Defining precancer is complex, and while histopathologists can identify cancerous tissues through significant changes, distinguishing precancer from non-cancerous tissues is still a work in progress in both research and clinical settings.
  • The text proposes a conceptual framework to better define precancer, focusing on molecular, pathological, clinical, and epidemiological criteria to enhance understanding and potential early interventions.
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MYC deregulation occurs in the majority of multiple myeloma cases and is associated with progression and worse prognosis. Enhanced MYC expression occurs in about 70% of patients with multiple myeloma, but it is known to be driven by translocation or amplification events in only ∼40% of myelomas. Here, we used CRISPR interference to uncover an epigenetic mechanism of MYC regulation whereby increased accessibility of a plasma cell-type-specific enhancer leads to increased MYC expression.

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Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy represents a transformative immunotherapy, it is also associated with distinct toxicities that contribute to morbidity and mortality. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL (Cochrane) for reports of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after CAR T cell therapy in lymphoma and multiple myeloma up to March 2024. After extraction of causes and numbers of death, we analyzed NRM point estimates using random-effect models.

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  • Precursor diseases of multiple myeloma (MM) include monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance and smoldering MM, with some patients possibly progressing to MM.
  • Predicting which patients will progress to MM is challenging, and there are no standardized screening guidelines currently in place.
  • Efforts are underway to improve risk stratification models and expand treatment options through various clinical trials focusing on these precursor diseases.
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  • Somatic mutations can change chromatin accessibility, impacting how cells differentiate and causing abnormal growth, but studying this in human samples is complicated due to mixed cell types.* -
  • The researchers created a technique called GoT-ChA, which connects specific genotypes to chromatin accessibility at a single-cell level, allowing for analysis of thousands of cells simultaneously.* -
  • Their study on JAK2-mutant CD34 cells revealed that mutations lead to specific epigenetic changes that affect inflammation and differentiation, demonstrating the potential of GoT-ChA for exploring the relationship between somatic mutations and epigenetic changes in various cellular contexts.*
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Background: Early therapeutic intervention in high-risk SMM (HR-SMM) has demonstrated benefit in previous studies of lenalidomide with or without dexamethasone. Triplets and quadruplet studies have been examined in this same population. However, to date, none of these studies examined the impact of depth of response on long-term outcomes of participants treated with lenalidomide-based therapy, and whether the use of the 20/2/20 model or the addition of genomic alterations can further define the population that would benefit the most from early therapeutic intervention.

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  • * Researchers studied 67 samples from 48 patients to identify genetic changes linked to high-risk disease stages and worse survival rates, finding specific genomic alterations like gain7q and del6q16.3 associated with poor prognosis.
  • * The study revealed different evolutionary pathways of MF, as well as potential biomarkers for identifying patients at higher risk of disease progression, emphasizing the importance of genomic analysis in managing MF.
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  • Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood cancer linked to MYC gene alterations, which currently lack effective drug-targeting options.
  • Research identified glutaminase (GLS1) as a vital gene for the survival of MYC-overexpressing cells, while showing it is not a primary cancer driver.
  • The study indicates that combining GLS1 and NAMPT inhibitors could be a promising approach to treat MYC-driven multiple myeloma by targeting cellular energy and synthesis pathways.
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Background: Obesity is an established, modifiable risk factor of multiple myeloma (MM); yet, no lifestyle interventions are routinely recommended for patients with overweight or obesity with MM precursor conditions. Prolonged nightly fasting is a simple, practical dietary regimen supported by research, suggesting that the synchronization of feeding-fasting timing with sleep-wake cycles favorably affects metabolic pathways implicated in MM. We describe the design and rationale of a randomized controlled pilot trial evaluating the efficacy of a regular, prolonged nighttime fasting schedule among individuals with overweight or obesity at high risk for developing MM or a related lymphoid malignancy.

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While the current approach to precursor hematologic conditions is to "watch and wait," this may change with the development of therapies that are safe and extend survival or delay the onset of symptomatic disease. The goal of future therapies in precursor hematologic conditions is to improve survival and prevent or delay the development of symptomatic disease while maximizing safety. Clinical trial considerations in this field include identifying an appropriate at-risk population, safety assessments, dose selection, primary and secondary trial endpoints including surrogate endpoints, control arms, and quality-of-life metrics, all of which may enable more precise benefit-risk assessment.

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Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is a premalignant condition of multiple myeloma with few known risk factors. The emergence of mass spectrometry (MS) for the detection of MGUS has provided new opportunities to evaluate its risk factors. In total, 2628 individuals at elevated risk for multiple myeloma were enrolled in a screening study and completed an exposure survey (PROMISE trial).

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Unlabelled: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) at time of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has been shown to be associated with decreased overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with multiple myeloma not receiving immunomodulatory drugs (IMiD). However, the significance of CH in newly diagnosed patients, including transplant ineligible patients, and its effect on clonal evolution during multiple myeloma therapy in the era of novel agents, has not been well studied. Using our new algorithm to differentiate tumor and germline mutations from CH, we detected CH in approximately 10% of 986 patients with multiple myeloma from the Clinical Outcomes in MM to Personal Assessment of Genetic Profile (CoMMpass) cohort (40/529 transplanted and 59/457 non-transplanted patients).

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Article Synopsis
  • RNA splicing factors often mutate in blood disorders like myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), affecting how blood cells develop, but the role of these mutations in blood formation is still not fully understood.
  • Researchers used a new method, GoT-Splice, which combines gene profiling and advanced single-cell analysis to study how mutations in a specific splicing factor (SF3B1) influence blood progenitor cells.
  • Their findings showed that SF3B1 mutations lead to abnormal splicing patterns and an increase in specific blood cell types before MDS is clinically evident, highlighting the importance of understanding these mutations in early disease progression.
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  • - The study highlights the challenge in creating targeted therapies for Multiple Myeloma (MM) due to the rarity of genetic abnormalities, with the common amplification of chromosome 1q (Amp1q) linked to poorer outcomes for patients.
  • - Researchers used large-scale screening methods to identify that MM patients with Amp1q have increased sensitivity to a combination of MCL1 and PI3K inhibitors, which could potentially lead to more effective treatments.
  • - Further analysis through single-cell RNA sequencing revealed differences in the PI3K pathway's activity between cancer cells with and without Amp1q, suggesting that targeting this pathway along with MCL1 could enhance treatment efficacy for affected patients.
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