Dynamic Risk Classification of Patients With Smoldering Multiple Myeloma With Luis Gerardo Rodríguez-Lobato, MD, PhD
At the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Luis Gerardo Rodríguez-Lobato, MD, PhD, Specialist in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Researcher at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and barnaclínic+, sat down with Oncology Data Advisor to discuss his research regarding dynamic risk classification for patients with smoldering multiple myeloma and how such a strategy can help clinicians predict the course of disease.
This podcast episode was recorded live by Oncology Data Advisor and ConveyMED at the 2022 ASH Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
Oncology Data Advisor: Welcome to Oncology Data Advisor. I'm Keira Smith, and today, I'm here with Luis Gerardo Rodríguez-Lobato at the ASH Annual Meeting. Thank you so much for being here today.
Luis Gerardo Rodríguez-Lobato, MD, PhD: Hello Keira, nice to meet you also. I'm very pleased to be here with you at the ASH meeting.
Oncology Data Advisor: Yes. So, tell us about yourself, and what you do and your research.
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: Sure. I'm a physician, but also a researcher at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. I'm a hematologist, and I also have a PhD degree in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.
Oncology Data Advisor: Great. So, I know you have a poster here about smoldering multiple myeloma regarding the evolving pattern and the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria. Would you like to tell us about your study?
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: Yes, for sure. At my institution, we described the evolving patterns in smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) years ago, and now with the 2/20/20 classification from the IMWG, we wanted to know if we could mix both risk classifications, in order to improve the detection of those patients that had a high risk to progress to symptomatic multiple myeloma.
Oncology Data Advisor: So, what were the results of the study?
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: We analyzed our cohort of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma, and we included 83 patients. Our results are very similar compared with the IMWG publication a couple of years ago. We observed that the two-year time to progression in the high-risk population was 54%, and with the evolving pattern, it was 48%.
So, when we mix those risk scores, we create a new dynamic classification. This means that during the first year after diagnosis of smoldering multiple myeloma, you can recalibrate the risk of our patients. In the high-risk population, the rate of progression to symptomatic multiple myeloma is almost 90% of patients with follow-up. With these results, we think that we could carry out a closer follow-up and assess early treatment for our patients. Now, this classification is dynamic and allows our patients to be reclassified during the first year of follow-up.
Oncology Data Advisor: Great. So, what are the next steps for this study? Are you continuing the research?
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: Yes, for sure. We want to publish this work next year, and we want to improve the intermediate-risk group classification, because there are almost 20% of the patients that we cannot detect. We think that our next approach is to improve this classification to detect those patients.
Oncology Data Advisor: Is there anything else you'd like to share about either your study or the other research that you've seen here?
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: Well, there are a lot of data. The other thing that I want to mention about our project is that we didn't include cytogenetic aberrations. This is a handicap, but in another way, it's also very useful, because not all hospitals all over the world can isolate plasma cells and detect the cytogenetic aberrations. So, our classification, we think, is very easy to use all over the world.
Oncology Data Advisor: Great. Well, this is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato: Thank you. Nice to meet you.
Thank you for listening to this podcast, recorded live at the 2022 ASH Annual Meeting by Oncology Data Advisor and ConveyMED. For more expert perspectives on the latest in cancer research and treatment, be sure to subscribe to the podcast at conveymed.io and OncData.com. Don't forget to follow us on social media for news, exclusive interviews, and more.
About Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato
Louis Rodríguez-Lobato, MD, PhD, is a hematologist and transplant specialist and researcher at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and barnaclínic+. Dr. Rodríguez-Lobato specializes in the treatment of acute myeloblastic and lymphoblastic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma, and other lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative neoplasms and in CAR T-cell therapy. His research focuses on improving outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma.
For More Information
Rodríguez-Lobato LG, de Daniel I Bisbe A, Torvar N, et al (2022). Evolving pattern improves the IMWG 2/20/20 classification for patients with smoldering multiple myeloma [poster presentation]. 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition. Abstract 1892.
Mateos MV, Kumar S, Dimopoulos MA, et al (2020). International Myeloma Working Group risk stratification model for smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM).Blood Cancer Journal, 10:102. DOI:10.1038/s41408-020-00366-3
Fernández de Larrea C, Isola I, Pereira A, et al (2018). Evolving M-protein pattern in patients with smoldering multiple myeloma: impact on early progression. Leukemia, 32(6):1427-1434. DOI: 10.1038/s41375-018-0013-4
Transcript edited for clarity. Any views expressed above are the speaker's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Oncology Data Advisor.
