New test picks out high-risk cancer patients
10 Mar 2020
Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have developed a genetic test that could help pick out patients who are at ‘ultra high risk’ of their cancer progressing aggressively early on.
Researchers showed that patients whose cancers display particular genetic patterns have a much poorer survival than average and are unlikely to benefit from a drug called lenalidomide on its own.
Study leader Dr Martin Kaiser, Team Leader in Myeloma Molecular Therapy at The Institute of Cancer Research, London said: “Our study shows that people whose cancers have an ‘ultra high risk’ combination of genetic features have particularly aggressive disease which doesn’t respond sufficiently to standard treatment to keep their cancer at bay.”
People with ultra high risk myeloma have a high unmet need for new treatment approaches, including cocktails of novel immunotherapy drugs in combination with chemotherapy. The researchers will be testing different drug combinations in a new clinical trial, OPTIMUM.
“Testing for high-risk genetic features could help target myeloma treatment, focusing on the specific needs of each patient, said Dr Kaiser. “Not all patients with myeloma are the same, and we know that by better understanding their cancer’s genetic and molecular features, we can tailor their treatment much more effectively.”
Next, the researchers plan to combine the insights from this study with the ongoing OPTIMUM trial, which will look at 470 patients, in order to find alternative treatment options for people with high-risk myeloma.
