NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) has added four new cancer centers to a study it is leading to seek out genetic variants involved in multiple myeloma, which will be responsible for the deaths of an estimated 11,000 people this year.
The Relating Clinical Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma to Personal Assessment of Genetic Profile (CoMMpass) trial is part of the MMRF's Personalized Medicine Initiative, and it aims to enroll at least 1,000 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.
The four new cancer centers joining the CoMMpass project include the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas; the Washington University School of Medicine Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital; the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University; and the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The researchers plan to follow the patients through treatment for at least five years, as multiple myeloma patients have a relative five-year survival rate of approximately 38 percent. The project will harness knowledge gained through the Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative, which developed the first map of the multiple myeloma genome.
The four existing centers already enrolling patients in the study include Virginia Cancer Specialists in Fairfax, Va.; the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ; Waverly Hematology Oncology in Cary, NC; and Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
"We believe the CoMMpass Study will provide us with a greater understanding of molecular variability in this disease and supply the means for our research, clinical, and industry partners to turn these insights into novel treatment strategies that will drive the next generation of therapies," Kathy Giusti, founder and CEO of MMRF and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium and a multiple myeloma patient, said in a statement.
MMRF plans to continue to expand its enrollment for the study to include more trial sites.