Browsing by Subject "Bortezomib"

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy. Despite the advancements in treatment approaches in the last decade, the prevalence of refractory disease leading to relapsed cases has been a major challenge. A wide range of intricate genetic heterogeneity demonstrated by myeloma patients is a credible explanation for the diverse treatment responses observed in patients sharing the same treatment regimens. Pertaining to this, the study aims to identify predictive gene expression biomarkers that forecast response to BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax and treatment outcome to proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. In this study, samples from MM patients were characterized into sensitive and resistant, (1) based on ex vivo response to venetoclax treatment (Resistant n=21; Sensitive n=21), and (2) based on their bortezomib treatment outcome in clinical profiles (Resistant n=12; Sensitive n=15). Associations between the different gene expressions and drug responses were studied using statistical and bioinformatic tools. As a result, we identified that significant (p-value <0.05) overexpression of 36 genes and downregulation of 38 genes appeared to confer resistance to venetoclax drug response in MM patients. Additionally, the functional association of these genes with pathways was determined using a pathway enrichment tool. Furthermore, the study provided evidence that cytogenetic alterations t(11;14) and t(4;14) are significantly (p-value <0.05) associated with differing venetoclax response in MM patients. These findings demonstrated that gene expression biomarkers and chromosomal translocations play a significant role in regulating venetoclax drug response in MM, which can be further utilized to personalize treatments for patients. The knowledge obtained from this work best applies in personalized medicine; whereby fitting treatments to an individual patient’s genomic landscape will enhance patient outcome.