A new genetic test could help doctors pick out patients with the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma 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.
Picking out patients whose cancers have high-risk genetic features could therefore help clinicians realize sooner if they’re unlikely to respond to treatment, enabling them to find alternative options as early as possible.
