SKY92 genetic subtyping signature better than current markers in predicting progress of multiple myeloma

Article in Blood shows the reliability of SKY92 genetic subtyping signature for prediction of disease progress for multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) patient

Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, conclude that the SKY92-signature (formerly known as EMC92) for genetic subtyping of multiple myeloma patients in combination with the ISS (the International Staging System) classification is superior to all other markers in risk classification for survival.

Their findings have been published in the well-known international haematological journal, Blood. Patients with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) have variable survival, and require reliable prognostic and predictive scoring systems.

The SKY92-signature,discovered by the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, consists of 92 genes that are directly or indirectly related to the disease, the combined expression level of these genes can be measured using the MMprofiler. Clinicians can use the result of the MMprofiler test to predict for their patients how multiple myeloma is likely to progress and to decide on the most optimal treatment for the individual patient.

According to the article in Blood, the SKY92-signature in combination with the ISS (international staging system) classification, outperforms current markers and offers a robust clinically relevant 4-group model: “Ranking all novel as well as existing risk classifications showed that the EMC92(SKY92)-ISS combination is the strongest predictor for overall survival, resulting in a four group risk classification. The median survival was 24 months for the highest risk group, 47 and 61 months for the intermediate risk groups and the median was not reached after 96 months for the lowest risk group”, the researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center noted.

The SKY92-signature is used by SkylineDx in its leading diagnostic test, the MMprofiler. On July 3^rd 2015 SkylineDx launched its MMprofiler as a Diagnostic Service in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, making it possible for physicians to send their samples to the SkylineDx central laboratory in Rotterdam for analysis with the MMprofiler. SkylineDx expects to launch the MMprofiler as a CE IVD kit on the European market later this year. This will enable other molecular diagnostics laboratories throughout Europe to implement the MMprofiler for analysis at their own facility.