Imageguided Theranostics in Multiple Myeloma

Theranostics is the use of a diagnostic test to decide which patients will benefit from a certain treatment.

The current standard treatment for patients with myeloma is induction chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplant. Although there are options for timing of treatments, patient outcomes are variable and the investigators do not currently know which patients benefit from which treatment schedule. There is evidence to suggest that residual disease on imaging after treatment is an indicator for a worse prognosis, however the best time point for this imaging is currently not known. This study is designed to show if there is an optimum time point for correlation between imaging and prognosis.

Several studies have indicated that MRI is better at detecting disease than FDG PET/CT and the investigators will confirm this when patients are first diagnosed, by performing both FDG PET/CT and whole body diffusion weighted MRI.

Patients will then be followed up with whole body diffusion weighted MRI after induction chemotherapy and 3 months post autograft. The investigators will look at the amount of disease present on these scans and correlate this with outcomes.

There are likely to be other factors which influence patient outcomes (such as genetics) and the investigators will also look at some of these. Patients who undergo autograft have regular blood tests and marrow samples taken as part of routine care, the investigators will use some of these samples (without compromising the patients treatment) to analyses some of these other factors. If the investigators are able to determine a correlation of genetic factors with outcome this information could be used in future research.

Theranostics is the use of a diagnostic test to decide which patients will benefit from a certain treatment.

The current standard treatment for patients with myeloma is induction chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplant. Although there are options for timing of treatments, patient outcomes are variable and the investigators do not currently know which patients benefit from which treatment schedule. There is evidence to suggest that residual disease on imaging after treatment is an indicator for a worse prognosis, however the best time point for this imaging is currently not known. This study is designed to show if there is an optimum time point for correlation between imaging and prognosis.

Several studies have indicated that MRI is better at detecting disease than FDG PET/CT and the investigators will confirm this when patients are first diagnosed, by performing both FDG PET/CT and whole body diffusion weighted MRI.

Patients will then be followed up with whole body diffusion weighted MRI after induction chemotherapy and 3 months post autograft. The investigators will look at the amount of disease present on these scans and correlate this with outcomes.

There are likely to be other factors which influence patient outcomes (such as genetics) and the investigators will also look at some of these. Patients who undergo autograft have regular blood tests and marrow samples taken as part of routine care, the investigators will use some of these samples (without compromising the patients treatment) to analyses some of these other factors. If the investigators are able to determine a correlation of genetic factors with outcome this information could be used in future research.