Characterising Risk and Biology Of Smouldering Myeloma for Early Detection Of Symptomatic Myeloma

MM is a cancer of plasma cells characterised by bone marrow infiltration by malignant plasma cells, kidney impairment, bone pain and elevated calcium levels1. There are approximately 5,500 new cases diagnosed annually in the UK, with a median survival of 5 years2. Significantly, despite improvements in conventional treatment options, MM remains incurable; patients inevitably relapse and will eventually die from their disease.3 MM is always preceded by defined precursor conditions, termed MGUS, and SMM. However, only 7% of MGUS patients and 50% of SMM patients progress to MM over a 5-year period4. In the UK, current practice favours commencing treatment only when there is evidence of end organ damage as the overall benefit of initiating early therapy is uncertain.

There is an increasing understanding that progression is determined by evolving changes in the tumour genome5 and changes in the immune microenvironment which support tumour growth, leading to progressively dysfunctional anti-tumour immunity. This project correlates changes in the tumour genome and immune microenvironment in individual patients with tumour progression and also aims to compare characteristics in patients with good and poor clinical outcomes with the objective of defining the drivers for disease progression. Furthermore, we aim to explore the use of blood samples to monitor tumour dynamics and immune function. Finally, we will also study the spatial distribution of immune cells and tumour cells in the bone marrow.

Clinical impact: A deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of MM will allow us to risk stratify patients with MGUS and SMM, and manage them accordingly as well as identifying subgroups of patients with MM who require different types of therapies, eg. more intensive multi-drug approaches for patients with adverse risk genetics.