Dr. Parekh on Using Genomics in Multiple Myeloma Treatment

Samir Parekh, MBBS, associate professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses using genomics to treat patients with multiple myeloma.

Physicians are using genomics to identify new drivers to understand myeloma better, find treatment for patients, and find the impact of genomics of the tumor on the tumor microenvironment, explains Parekh. For prognosis, physicians are looking at RNA expression patterns to build a new map of myeloma and find parts of the map associated with poor-risk myeloma, says Parekh.

For immunology, neoantigens can be used to treat patients and track their disease, as these tumor mutations elicit responses that can be the most direct measure of the immunotherapies that are being used in myeloma, including immunomodulatory agents and monoclonal antibodies, concludes Parekh.