Blood-derived cell-free DNA for disease monitoring in patients with multiple myeloma

In his poster presented at ASH 2024, Dr Robbe Heestermans, clinical biologist in training at the University Hospital Brussels (Brussel, Belgium), shares the results of his research into peripheral blood-based monitoring in the follow-up of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. The results of these analyses learn that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has the potential to serve as a tool to monitor the dynamic mutation profile in MM and to assess clinical responses to therapy. Furthermore, the fact that certain single nucleotide variants (SNVs) were only detected in cfDNA and not in matched bone marrow samples illustrate the potential added value of using cfDNA for this. Finally, this research project indicated that cfDNA can also be used as a biomarker for methylation profiling in MM. 

According to Dr Heestermans, serial cfDNA analyses could improve the existing risk stratification of MM and inform clinicians about the emergence of (epi)genetic alterations with prognostic or therapeutic relevance. As such, this technique can contribute to a further personalization of the care for patients with MM.