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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Graham Jackson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2024.Deeper responses are associated with improved survival in patients being treated for myeloma. However, the sensitivity of the current blood-based assays is limited. Historical studies suggested that normalisation of the serum free light chain (FLC) ratio in patients who were negative by immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) was associated with improved outcomes. However, recently this has been called into question. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based FLC assessments may offer a superior methodology for the detection of monoclonal FLC due to greater sensitivity. To test this hypothesis, all available samples from patients who were IFE negative after treatment with carfilzomib and lenalidomide-based induction and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the Myeloma XI trial underwent FLC-MS testing. FLC-MS response assessments from post-induction, day+100 post-ASCT and six months post-maintenance randomisation were compared to serum FLC assay results. Almost 40% of patients had discordant results and 28.7% of patients with a normal FLC ratio had residual monoclonal FLC detectable by FLC-MS. FLC-MS positivity was associated with reduced progression-free survival (PFS) but an abnormal FLC ratio was not. This study demonstrates that FLC-MS provides a superior methodology for the detection of residual monoclonal FLC with FLC-MS positivity identifying IFE-negative patients who are at higher risk of early progression.
Author(s): Giles HV, Drayson MT, Kishore B, Pawlyn C, Kaiser M, Cook G, de Tute R, Owen RG, Cairns D, Menzies T, Davies FE, Morgan GJ, Pratt G, Jackson GH
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Blood Cancer Journal
Year: 2024
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 18/03/2024
Acceptance date: 22/01/2024
Date deposited: 03/04/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2044-5385
Publisher: Springer Nature
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41408-024-00995-y
DOI: 10.1038/s41408-024-00995-y
Data Access Statement: The data will be available by email request from hannah.giles@uhb.nhs.uk or guy.pratt@uhb.nhs.uk.
PubMed id: 38499538
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