In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Grinfeld et al identified distinct genomic subgroups among patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms that, when combined with clinical variables, offered the potential for individualized predictions of clinical outcomes.
Study Details
In the study, coding exons from 69 myeloid cancer genes were sequenced in 2,035 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, including 1,321 with essential thrombocythemia, 356 with polycythemia vera, 309 with myelofibrosis, and 49 with other diagnoses. Genomic classifications were developed and integrated with clinical variables to provide prognostic models.
Key Findings
The investigators concluded, “Comprehensive genomic characterization identified distinct genetic subgroups and provided a classification of myeloproliferative neoplasms on the basis of causal biologic mechanisms. Integration of genomic data with clinical variables enabled the personalized predictions of patients’ outcomes and may support the treatment of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.”
They stated, “We have implemented a free, user-friendly online calculator of individualized patient outcomes that enables the exploration of data from patients in our cohort, and the generation of new patient predictions according to available clinical, laboratory, and genomic features. Further validation of our model with the use of additional cohorts of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms will be important, given the bias toward including patients with essential thrombocythemia in this study.”
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and others.
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