TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rasche, Leo
A1  - Kumar, Manoj
A1  - Gershner, Grant
A1  - Samant, Rohan
A1  - Van Hemert, Rudy
A1  - Heidemeier, Anke
A1  - Lapa, Constantin
A1  - Bley, Thorsten
A1  - Buck, Andreas
A1  - McDonald, James
A1  - Hillengass, Jens
A1  - Epstein, Joshua
A1  - Thanendrarajan, Sharmilan
A1  - Schinke, Carolina
A1  - van Rhee, Frits
A1  - Zangari, Maurizio
A1  - Barlogie, Bart
A1  - Davies, Faith E.
A1  - Morgan, Gareth J.
A1  - Weinhold, Niels
T1  - Lack of Spleen Signal on Diffusion Weighted MRI is associated with High Tumor Burden and Poor Prognosis in Multiple Myeloma: A Link to Extramedullary Hematopoiesis?
JF  - Theranostics
N2  - Due to the low frequency of abnormalities affecting the spleen, this organ is often overlooked during radiological examinations. Here, we report on the unexpected finding, that the spleen signal on diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) is associated with clinical parameters in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias. Methods: We investigated the spleen signal on DW-MRI together with clinical and molecular parameters in 295 transplant-eligible newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (NDMM) patients and in 72 cases with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Results: Usually, the spleen is the abdominal organ with the highest intensities on DW-MRI. Yet, significant signal loss on DW-MRI images was seen in 71 of 295 (24%) NDMM patients. This phenomenon was associated with the level of bone marrow plasmacytosis (P=1x10(-10)) and International Staging System 3 (P=0.0001) but not with gain(1q), and del(17p) or plasma cell gene signatures. The signal was preserved in 72 individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and generally re-appeared in MM patients responding to treatment, suggesting that lack of signal reflects increased tumor burden. While absence of spleen signal in MM patients with high risk disease defined a subgroup with very poor outcome, re-appearance of the spleen signal after autologous stem cell transplantation was seen in patients with improved outcome. Our preliminary observation suggests that extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen is a factor that modifies the DW-MRI signal of this organ. Conclusions: The DW-MRI spleen signal is a promising marker for tumor load and provides prognostic information in MM.
KW  - multiple myeloma
KW  - diffusion weighted mri
KW  - spleen
KW  - tumor burden
KW  - high risk
KW  - extramedullary hematopoiesis
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224982
VL  - 9
IS  - 16
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rasche, Leo
A1  - Kortüm, K. Martin
A1  - Raab, Marc S.
A1  - Weinhold, Niels
T1  - The impact of tumor heterogeneity on diagnostics and novel therapeutic strategies in multiple myeloma
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Myeloma is characterized by extensive inter-patient genomic heterogeneity due to multiple different initiating events. A recent multi-region sequencing study demonstrated spatial differences, with progression events, such as TP53 mutations, frequently being restricted to focal lesions. In this review article, we describe the clinical impact of these two types of tumor heterogeneity. Target mutations are often dominant at one site but absent at other sites, which poses a significant challenge to personalized therapy in myeloma. The same holds true for high-risk subclones, which can be locally restricted, and as such not detectable at the iliac crest, which is the usual sampling site. Imaging can improve current risk classifiers and monitoring of residual disease, but does not allow for deciphering the molecular characteristics of tumor clones. In the era of novel immunotherapies, the clinical impact of heterogeneity certainly needs to be re-defined. Yet, preliminary observations indicate an ongoing impact of spatial heterogeneity on the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies. In conclusion, we recommend combining molecular tests with imaging to improve risk prediction and monitoring of residual disease. Overcoming intra-tumor heterogeneity is the prerequisite for curing myeloma. Novel immunotherapies are promising but research addressing their impact on the spatial clonal architecture is highly warranted.
KW  - multiple myeloma
KW  - spatial heterogeneity
KW  - risk stratification
KW  - minimal residual disease
KW  - targeted therapy
KW  - clinical imaging
KW  - immunotherapy
KW  - daratumumab
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285402
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 20
IS  - 5
ER  -