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A gene expression profiling (GEP) classifier can accurately identify high- and low-risk patients with multiple myeloma (MM), according to research published in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia.
The GEP classifier is known as SKY92, and researchers found they could accurately identify high-risk MM patients using SKY92 alone.
By combining SKY92 with the International Staging System (ISS), the team was able to identify low-risk MM patients as well.
“We have demonstrated the prognostic value of SKY92 not only as a marker of high risk, but also as a marker of low risk when combined with ISS,” said study author Erik H. van Beers, PhD, vice president of genomics at SkylineDx, the company that developed SKY92.
“Both validated markers may serve as the basis for the discovery of improved individualized therapies for patients with multiple myeloma.”
Dr van Beers and his colleagues compared 8 risk-assessment platforms to analyze gene expression data from 91 newly diagnosed MM patients. The patients were included in an independent dataset amassed by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative (MMRF/MMGI).
The researchers used the GEP classifiers SKY92, UAMS70, UAMS80, IFM15, HM19, Cancer Testis Antigen, Centrosome Index, and Proliferation Index to identify high-risk patients.
Of the 8 classifiers, SKY92 identified the largest proportion (21%) of high-risk cases and also attained the highest Cox proportional hazard ratio (8.2) for overall survival (OS).
Additionally, SKY92 predicted 9 of the 13 (60%) deaths that occurred at 2 years and 16 of the 31 (52%) deaths at 5 years, a predictive rate that was higher than any of the other classifiers.
Dr van Beers and his colleagues also combined the SKY92 standard-risk classifier with the ISS to identify low-risk patients in the MMRF/MMGI cohort. This combination was recently identified as a marker for detecting low-risk MM.*
The SKY92/ISS marker identified 42% of patients as low risk, with their median OS not reached at 96 months. The low-risk classification was strongly supported by the achieved hazard ratio of 10.
“The MMRF/MMGI dataset was not part of our previous discovery*, which demonstrated that the combination of SKY92 and ISS identifies the lowest-risk patients with high accuracy and leaves the smallest proportion of patients identified as intermediate risk,” Dr van Beers said. “Thus, the dataset remained available for independent validation—an important factor in the adoption of gene expression profiling tools.”
“We are pleased to have validated the SKY92/ISS low-risk marker by applying it to the well-characterized MMRF/MMGI cohort,” added study author Rafael Fonseca, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Our findings further strengthen the prognostic utility of the combination marker.” 
*Kuiper R, van Duin M, van Vliet, MH, et al. Prediction of high- and low-risk multiple myeloma based on gene expression and the International Staging System. Blood. 2015;126(17):1996-2004.
A gene expression profiling (GEP) classifier can accurately identify high- and low-risk patients with multiple myeloma (MM), according to research published in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia.
The GEP classifier is known as SKY92, and researchers found they could accurately identify high-risk MM patients using SKY92 alone.
By combining SKY92 with the International Staging System (ISS), the team was able to identify low-risk MM patients as well.
“We have demonstrated the prognostic value of SKY92 not only as a marker of high risk, but also as a marker of low risk when combined with ISS,” said study author Erik H. van Beers, PhD, vice president of genomics at SkylineDx, the company that developed SKY92.
“Both validated markers may serve as the basis for the discovery of improved individualized therapies for patients with multiple myeloma.”
Dr van Beers and his colleagues compared 8 risk-assessment platforms to analyze gene expression data from 91 newly diagnosed MM patients. The patients were included in an independent dataset amassed by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative (MMRF/MMGI).
The researchers used the GEP classifiers SKY92, UAMS70, UAMS80, IFM15, HM19, Cancer Testis Antigen, Centrosome Index, and Proliferation Index to identify high-risk patients.
Of the 8 classifiers, SKY92 identified the largest proportion (21%) of high-risk cases and also attained the highest Cox proportional hazard ratio (8.2) for overall survival (OS).
Additionally, SKY92 predicted 9 of the 13 (60%) deaths that occurred at 2 years and 16 of the 31 (52%) deaths at 5 years, a predictive rate that was higher than any of the other classifiers.
Dr van Beers and his colleagues also combined the SKY92 standard-risk classifier with the ISS to identify low-risk patients in the MMRF/MMGI cohort. This combination was recently identified as a marker for detecting low-risk MM.*
The SKY92/ISS marker identified 42% of patients as low risk, with their median OS not reached at 96 months. The low-risk classification was strongly supported by the achieved hazard ratio of 10.
“The MMRF/MMGI dataset was not part of our previous discovery*, which demonstrated that the combination of SKY92 and ISS identifies the lowest-risk patients with high accuracy and leaves the smallest proportion of patients identified as intermediate risk,” Dr van Beers said. “Thus, the dataset remained available for independent validation—an important factor in the adoption of gene expression profiling tools.”
“We are pleased to have validated the SKY92/ISS low-risk marker by applying it to the well-characterized MMRF/MMGI cohort,” added study author Rafael Fonseca, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Our findings further strengthen the prognostic utility of the combination marker.”
*Kuiper R, van Duin M, van Vliet, MH, et al. Prediction of high- and low-risk multiple myeloma based on gene expression and the International Staging System. Blood. 2015;126(17):1996-2004.
A gene expression profiling (GEP) classifier can accurately identify high- and low-risk patients with multiple myeloma (MM), according to research published in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia.
The GEP classifier is known as SKY92, and researchers found they could accurately identify high-risk MM patients using SKY92 alone.
By combining SKY92 with the International Staging System (ISS), the team was able to identify low-risk MM patients as well.
“We have demonstrated the prognostic value of SKY92 not only as a marker of high risk, but also as a marker of low risk when combined with ISS,” said study author Erik H. van Beers, PhD, vice president of genomics at SkylineDx, the company that developed SKY92.
“Both validated markers may serve as the basis for the discovery of improved individualized therapies for patients with multiple myeloma.”
Dr van Beers and his colleagues compared 8 risk-assessment platforms to analyze gene expression data from 91 newly diagnosed MM patients. The patients were included in an independent dataset amassed by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative (MMRF/MMGI).
The researchers used the GEP classifiers SKY92, UAMS70, UAMS80, IFM15, HM19, Cancer Testis Antigen, Centrosome Index, and Proliferation Index to identify high-risk patients.
Of the 8 classifiers, SKY92 identified the largest proportion (21%) of high-risk cases and also attained the highest Cox proportional hazard ratio (8.2) for overall survival (OS).
Additionally, SKY92 predicted 9 of the 13 (60%) deaths that occurred at 2 years and 16 of the 31 (52%) deaths at 5 years, a predictive rate that was higher than any of the other classifiers.
Dr van Beers and his colleagues also combined the SKY92 standard-risk classifier with the ISS to identify low-risk patients in the MMRF/MMGI cohort. This combination was recently identified as a marker for detecting low-risk MM.*
The SKY92/ISS marker identified 42% of patients as low risk, with their median OS not reached at 96 months. The low-risk classification was strongly supported by the achieved hazard ratio of 10.
“The MMRF/MMGI dataset was not part of our previous discovery*, which demonstrated that the combination of SKY92 and ISS identifies the lowest-risk patients with high accuracy and leaves the smallest proportion of patients identified as intermediate risk,” Dr van Beers said. “Thus, the dataset remained available for independent validation—an important factor in the adoption of gene expression profiling tools.”
“We are pleased to have validated the SKY92/ISS low-risk marker by applying it to the well-characterized MMRF/MMGI cohort,” added study author Rafael Fonseca, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Our findings further strengthen the prognostic utility of the combination marker.”
*Kuiper R, van Duin M, van Vliet, MH, et al. Prediction of high- and low-risk multiple myeloma based on gene expression and the International Staging System. Blood. 2015;126(17):1996-2004.