[michael P]

Gene Expression Profiling

by michael P on Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:23 am

Dear MIRT Drs., I was diagnosed last year and have undergone therapy with a three-drug combination for nearly a year (no transplant thus far). I never visited MIRT or any other center that does Gene Expression Profiling (GEP). I really want to know which "flavor" of the disease I have. But after nearly a year of therapy, I am negative under multiparameter flow cytometry, immunofixation negative, and have a normalized FLC ratio. Does it make any sense at this point to seek out a center, like MIRT, to do GEP? Or should I wait until relapse? Or does GEP have it's most significance at the time of diagnosis, in which case it's too late for me to reap its benefits? Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

[Dr. Bijay Nair]

Re: Gene Expression Profiling

by Dr. Bijay Nair on Fri Apr 09, 2010 4:32 pm

We use GEP to predict outcomes in myeloma. Over the past 2 years we have been treating patients differently based on GEP defined risk. The best time to do this test is prior to any treatment. GEP is performed on malignant plasma cells, so if there is no evidence of disease on other tests, it is unlikely that we will get adequate cancer cells to do this. Hopefully your disease will not relapse, but if it does it would certainly be worth getting a GEP at that time.