A research team recently devised a score for risk stratification of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) based on hematopoietic features included in a standard complete blood count (CBC) test. Results were presented in the American Journal of Hematology.
In a retrospective study of 1540 patients who were newly diagnosed with MM, researchers evaluated patients’ hematopoietic variables in order to test a model of risk stratification. In this model, a score of 1 was attributed to each of the following: hemoglobin level below 10 g/dL, mean corpuscular volume greater than 96 fL, and platelet count less than 150 x 109/L.
Using this model, a score of 0 was given to 46% of patients in this study, a score of 1 was given to 33%, a score of 2 was given to 17%, and a score of 3 was given to 4%.
Higher risk stratification scores were associated with lower median progression-free survival (PFS). Patients with a score of 0 had a median PFS of 32.3 months, while those with a score of 3 had a median PFS of 18.3 months (P <.001).
Reduced median overall survival (OS) was also linked to having a higher risk stratification score. Patients with a score of 0 had a median OS of 80.7 months, while those with a score of 3 had a median OS of 31.3 months (P <.0001).
Multivariable analysis showed that this hematopoietic risk stratification model was a predictor of OS when patients with scores of 0 to 2 were compared with patients with a score of 3 (hazard ratio, 0.51; P =.006).
“We have shown that the hematopoietic score, which incorporated commonly available variables from a CBC, was able to predict OS in patients with newly diagnosed MM,” wrote the investigators. However, they recommended further study to confirm the prognostic utility of this scoring system.
Reference
- Al Saleh AS, Sidiqi MH, Dispenzieri A, et al. Hematopoietic score predicts outcomes in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients [published online October 15, 2019]. Am J Hematol. doi:10.1002/ajh.25657
