Real-world effectiveness and safety of apremilast in psoriasis at 52 weeks: a retrospective, observational, multicentre study by the Spanish Psoriasis Group.

BACKGROUND: Little has been published on the real-world effectiveness and safety of apremilast in psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness, safety and drug survival of apremilast at 52 weeks in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis in routine clinical practice. METHODS: Retrospective, multicentre study of adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis treated with apremilast from March 2016 to March 2018. RESULTS: We studied 292 patients with plaque psoriasis and 85 patients with palmoplantar psoriasis. The mean (SD) Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was 10.7 (7.0) at baseline and 3.0 (4.2) at 52 weeks. After 12 months of treatment, 73.6% of patients had a PASI score of 3 or less. In terms of relative improvement by week 52, 49.7% of patients achieved PASI-75 (≥75% reduction in PASI score) and 26.5% achieved PASI-90. The mean physician global assessment score for palmoplantar psoriasis fell from 4.2 (5.2) at baseline to 1.3 (1.3) at week 52. Overall drug survival after 1 year of treatment with apremilast was 54.9 %. The main reasons for treatment discontinuation were loss of efficacy (23.9%) and adverse events (15.9%). Almost half of the patients in our series (47%) experienced at least one adverse event. The most common events were gastrointestinal problems. CONCLUSIONS: Apremilast may be a suitable alternative for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and palmoplantar psoriasis. Although the drug has a good safety profile, adverse gastrointestinal effects are common.

Measurable residual disease (MRD) dynamics in multiple myeloma and the influence of clonal diversity analyzed by artificial intelligence.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment is a known surrogate marker for survival in multiple myeloma (MM). Here, we present a single institution's experience assessing MRD by NGS of Ig genes and the long-term impact of depth of response as well as clonal diversity on the clinical outcome of a large population of MM patients; 482 MM patients at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) diagnosed from 2008 to 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. MRD assessment was performed by NGS. PFS curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method. In the newly diagnosed group, 119 of 304, achieved MRD negativity at the level of 10-6 at least once. These patients had a prolonged PFS versus patients who were persistently MRD positive at different levels (p > 0.0001). In the relapsed disease group, 64 of 178 achieved MRD negativity at 10-6, and PFS was prolonged versus patients who remained MRD positive (p = 0.03). Three categories of MRD dynamics were defined by artificial intelligence: (A) patients with ≥3 consistently MRD negative samples, (B) patients with continuously declining but detectable clones, and (C) patients with either increasing or a stable number of clones. Groups A and B had a more prolonged PFS than group C (p < 10-7). Patients who were MRD positive and had not yet relapsed had a higher clonal diversity than those patients who were MRD positive and had relapsed. MRD dynamics can accurately predict disease evolution and drive clinical decision-making. Clonal Diversity could complement MRD assessment in the prediction of outcomes in MM.

Are liver contour and bone fusion comparable to fiducials for IGRT in liver SBRT?

Introduction: Liver stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is increasingly being used to treat tumours. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in patient positioning when using implanted fiducials as surrogates compared to alternative methods based on liver contour or bone registration. Material and methods: Eighteen patients treated with SBRT who underwent a fiducial placement procedure were included. Fiducial guidance was our gold standard to guide treatment in this study. After recording the displacements, when fusing the planning CT and CBCT performed in the treatment unit using fiducials, liver contour and bone reference, the differences between fiducials and liver contour and bone reference were calculated. Data from 88 CBCT were analyzed. The correlation between the displacements found with fiducials and those performed based on the liver contour and the nearest bone structure as references was determined. The mean, median, variance, range and standard deviation of the displacements with each of the fusion methods were obtained. µ, Æ©, and σ values and margins were obtained. Results: Lateral displacements of less than 3 mm with respect to the gold standard in 92% vs. 62.5% of cases using liver contour and bone references, respectively, with 93.2% vs. 65.9% in the AP axis and SI movement in 69.3% vs. 51.1%. The errors µ, σ and Æ© of the fusions with hepatic contour and bone reference in SI were 0.26 mm, 4 mm and 3 mm, and 0.8 mm, 5 mm and 3 mm respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that displacements were smaller with the use of hepatic contour compared to bone reference and comparable to those obtained with the use of fiducials in the lateral, AP and SI motion axes. This would justify that hepatic contouring can be a guide in the treatment of patients in the absence of fiducials.

[Implementation of a pediatric unit of acquired brain injury in subacute phase in the public health system. Epidemiological, clinical and initial evolution characteristics of the patients attended]. / Implantación de una unidad pediátrica de daño cerebral adquirido en fase subaguda en el sistema público de salud. Características epidemiológicas, clínicas y de evolución inicial de los pacientes atendidos.

INTRODUCTION: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is defined as a neurological injury, acutely occurred, at some point in life causing impairment or loss of functional capacity. In 2019, a specific document was created by the Ombudsman pointing out the relevance of attention to this entity in the pediatric age. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The process of creation and the casuistry of care of one of the first comprehensive care units for subacute ACD in pediatric age within the public health system is presented. RESULTS: Different clinical guidelines have been prepared on the admission and care process within the unit, both for patients and their relatives. Twenty-four patients ≤18 years old, admitted to the subacute phase ACD unit from November 2019 to July 2021, 12 coming from the Community of Madrid, were attended. The median age was 6.97 years. Traumatic mechanism was the most frequent, with iatrogenic causes predominating, followed by precipitation and vehicle-related accidents. On admission to the unit, 8 maintained a minimally conscious/vegetative state. The collaboration of up to 14 different specialists was required due to the complexity of the patients. The overall evolution was favorable in 23 cases, with sequelae in all of them. CONCLUSION: The creation of units specialized in pediatric ACD care with specific action protocols and coordinated trans- and multidisciplinary work is of vital importance.

A neuropsychological approach in a paediatric acquired brain injury unit under the public health system.

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) causes cognitive and behavioural difficulties and alters the course of child development. The ABI unit at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús is the first within the public Spanish health system to provide comprehensive coverage to these patients and their families. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to show the working methodology followed with patients and their families, and to describe the clinical characteristics of the patients treated and the outcomes of treatment. PATIENTS: Fifty-three patients aged between 3 months and 16 and a half years received treatment. The conditions treated were brain tumours, stroke, traumatic brain injury, damage secondary to epilepsy surgery, and hypoxia. METHODS: All patients were evaluated at admission and at discharge. Treatments were adapted to each patient's difficulties and their severity, as well as to the patient's age. Families received individual and group therapy. RESULTS: Older age was associated with better cognitive recovery and shorter duration of treatment. Different conditions show differential impact on intelligence quotient and developmental quotient scores at the beginning of treatment, with hypoxia and encephalitis being associated with greatest severity. Intelligence quotient and developmental quotient scores and visual memory and attention scores at discharge improved significantly after the faceted neuropsychological treatment with respect to scores registered at admission. CONCLUSIONS: The care of patients with ABI should include neuropsychological rehabilitation programmes and provide emotional support to the family so that they may actively participate in the recovery of the child or adolescent.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia. A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a chronic pathology characterised by widespread pain commonly associated with psychological distress affecting quality of life. In recent years, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been investigated to treat chronic pain. The aim of the current review is to determine the effects of tDCS and TMS on the main symptoms of patients with FM. DEVELOPMENT: A systematic review based on PRISMA guidelines was carried out. The search strategy was performed in MEDLINE, SCOPUS, PEDro and Cochrane Library. Randomised controlled trials based on the effects of tDCS and TMS on pain, pressure pain threshold (PPT), fatigue, anxiety and depression, catastrophising and quality of life in patients with FM were analysed. Fourteen studies were included. CONCLUSIONS: The application of tDCS to the motor cortex is the only intervention shown to decrease pain in the short and medium-term in patients with FM. The application of both interventions showed improvements in PPT, catastrophising and quality of life when applied to the motor cortex, and in fatigue when applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The effects of these interventions on anxiety and depression are unclear.

[Etanercept in childhood psoriasis]. / Etanercept en psoriasis infantil.

We present the case of a 10-year old male child with severe incapacitating psoriasis resistant to multiple treatments. He was treated with etanercept successfully in our Dermatology Department. The use of etanercept in children and adolescents with severe psoriasis has been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency. Thus, it has become the first and only biological drug authorized for its use in the child population.

A neuropsychological approach in a paediatric acquired brain injury unit under the public health system. / Abordaje neuropsicológico en una unidad pediátrica de daño cerebral adquirido del sistema público de salud.

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) causes cognitive and behavioural difficulties and alters the course of child development. The ABI unit at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús is the first within the public Spanish health system to provide comprehensive coverage to these patients and their families. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to show the working methodology followed with patients and their families, and to describe the clinical characteristics of the patients treated and the outcomes of treatment. PATIENTS: Fifty-three patients aged between three months and 16 and a half years received treatment. The conditions treated were brain tumours, stroke, traumatic brain injury, damage secondary to epilepsy surgery, and hypoxia. METHODS: All patients were evaluated at admission and at discharge. Treatments were adapted to each patient's difficulties and their severity, as well as to the patient's age. Families received individual and group therapy. RESULTS: Older age was associated with better cognitive recovery and shorter duration of treatment. Different conditions show differential impact on intelligence quotient and developmental quotient scores at the beginning of treatment, with hypoxia and encephalitis being associated with greatest severity. Intelligence quotient and developmental quotient scores and visual memory and attention scores at discharge improved significantly after the faceted neuropsychological treatment with respect to scores registered at admission. CONCLUSIONS: The care of patients with ABI should include neuropsychological rehabilitation programmes and provide emotional support to the family so that they may actively participate in the recovery of the child or adolescent.

Exercise and cancer: a position statement from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology.

Due to improvements in the number of cancer survivors and survival time, there is a growing interest in healthy behaviors, such as physical activity (PA), and their potential impact on cancer- and non-cancer-related morbidity in individuals with cancer. Commissioned by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), in this review, we sought to distill the most recent evidence on this topic, focusing on the mechanisms that underpin the effects of PA on cancer, the role of PA in cancer prevention and in the prognosis of cancer and practical recommendations for clinicians regarding PA counseling. Despite the available information, the introduction of exercise programs into the global management of cancer patients remains a challenge with several areas of uncertainty. Among others, the most effective behavioral interventions to achieve long-term changes in a patient's lifestyle and the optimal intensity and duration of PA should be defined with more precision in future studies.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia. A systematic review. / Efectos de la estimulación transcraneal por corriente directa y de la estimulación magnética transcraneal en pacientes con fibromialgia. Revisión sistemática.

INTRODUCTION: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a chronic pathology characterized by widespread pain commonly associated with psychological distress affecting quality of life. In recent years, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been investigated to treat chronic pain. The aim of the current review is to determine the effects of tDCS and TMS on the main symptoms of patients with FM. DEVELOPMENT: A systematic review based on PRISMA guidelines was carried out. The search strategy was performed in Medline, Scopus, PEDro and Cochrane Library. Randomized controlled trials based on the effects of tDCS and TMS on pain, pressure pain threshold, fatigue, anxiety and depression, catastrophizing and quality of life in patients with FM were analysed. Fourteen studies were included. CONCLUSIONS: The application of tDCS to the motor cortex is the only intervention shown to decrease pain in the short and medium-term in patients with FM. The application of both interventions showed improvements in pressure pain threshold, catastrophizing and quality of life when applied to the motor cortex, and in fatigue when applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The effects of these interventions on anxiety and depression are unclear.

Patient and Physician Satisfaction with Calcipotriol and Betamethasone Dipropionate Aerosol Foam in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis on the Body. / Satisfacción del paciente y el médico con la espuma en aerosol de calcipotriol y dipropionato de betametasona para el tratamiento de la psoriasis vulgar en el cuerpo.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) aerosol foam is more effective in the treatment of plaque psoriasis than earlier formulations incorporating this combination of active ingredients. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient and physician satisfaction with Cal/BD aerosol foam in the treatment of plaque psoriasis on the body. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study of 446 patients with plaque psoriasis affecting no more than 30% of the body surface area who had received treatment with Cal/BD aerosol foam for 4 weeks. The patients rated their satisfaction with the treatment using the TSQM-9 (Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication) and the physicians on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS: Patients were highly satisfied with Cal/BD aerosol in terms of its ability to treat their condition (84%), relieve their symptoms (84.4%), and act rapidly (82.8%). With respect to convenience, the patients gave high ratings to ease of use (91.8%), ease of planning (93.9%), and ease of following instructions (89.9%). Global satisfaction was also high, with 85% of patients expressing that they were satisfied, very satisfied, or extremely satisfied with the treatment. Of the physicians, 85.7% stated that they were quite or very satisfied with the treatment. CONCLUSION: Both patients and physicians expressed high satisfaction with the use of Cal/BD aerosol foam for the treatment of plaque psoriasis on the body.

[Usefulness of acid-base and electrolyte balance in acute gastroenteritis]. / Utilidad del equilibrio ácido-base y del ionograma en el tratamiento de la gastroenteritis aguda.

INTRODUCTION: Blood analysis blood is frequently requested for evaluating patients with acute gastroenteritis who come to our emergency department, but there are few studies that determine its real usefulness in the management of these patients. OBJECTIVES: a) To determine the reasons why paediatricians request laboratory tests in patients with acute gastroenteritis; b) to establish the type and frequency of laboratory abnormalities found in these patients; c) to evaluate the ability of paediatricians to predict laboratory abnormalities in children with acute gastroenteritis from the history and physical examination; d) to assess the frequency with which these laboratory findings change the initial management of the patient, and e) to determine whether there is an association between clinical and analytical results, and length of hospital stay. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Over a period of 4 months, children between 3 months and 18 years with symptomatic acute gastroenteritis seen in the emergency department and had laboratory tests requested by the paediatrician were included. RESULTS: Of the 4,172 children seen with acute gastroenteritis, 163 patients who had laboratory tests done were included in the study. The most common reason for requests was clinical suspicion of dehydration in 67.5 %. Abnormal results were seen in 77.9 % of cases, mainly metabolic acidosis (72.4 %). The sensitivity analysis to predict an analytical abnormality was 64.6 % with a specificity of 61.1 %. Electrolyte disorders caused a change in the initial management in 12.3 % of patients, with 85.3 % of patients requiring hospital admission; bicarbonate, sodium, creatinine and urea values correlated with a hospital stay of more or less 24 hours. CONCLUSIONS: History and physical examination have limitations in predicting the presence of clinically significant electrolyte abnormalities in patients without clinical signs of dehydration or mild dehydration. Some laboratory tests correlate well with the length of patient stay in hospital.

Conservative treatment in patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome: A systematic review. / Tratamiento conservador en pacientes con síndrome del túnel carpiano con intensidad leve o moderada. Revisión sistemática.

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral neuropathy. It is characterised by the compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. CTS presents a high prevalence and it is a disabling condition from the earliest stages. Severe cases are usually treated surgically, while conservative treatment is recommended in mild to moderate cases. The aim of this systematic review is to present the conservative treatments and determine their effectiveness in mild-to-moderate cases of CTS over the last 15 years. METHODS: A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA criteria. We used the Medline, PEDro, and Cochrane databases to find and select randomised controlled clinical trials evaluating the effects of conservative treatment on the symptoms and functional ability of patients with mild to moderate CTS; 32 clinical trials were included. There is evidence supporting the effectiveness of oral drugs, although injections appear to be more effective. Splinting has been shown to be effective, and it is also associated with use of other non-pharmacological techniques. Assessments of the use of electrotherapy techniques alone have shown no conclusive results about their effectiveness. Other soft tissue techniques have also shown good results but evidence on this topic is limited. Various treatment combinations (drug and non-pharmacological treatments) have been proposed without conclusive results. CONCLUSIONS: Several conservative treatments are able to relieve symptoms and improve functional ability of patients with mild-to-moderate CTS. These include splinting, oral drugs, injections, electrotherapy, specific manual techniques, and neural gliding exercises as well as different combinations of the above. We have been unable to describe the best technique or combination of techniques due to the limitations of the studies; therefore, further studies of better methodological quality are needed.

Genomic characterization of high-count MBL cases indicates that early detection of driver mutations and subclonal expansion are predictors of adverse clinical outcome.

High-count monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is an asymptomatic expansion of clonal B cells in the peripheral blood without other manifestations of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Yearly, 1% of MBLs evolve to CLL requiring therapy; thus being critical to understand the biological events that determine which MBLs progress to intermediate/advanced CLL. In this study, we performed targeted deep sequencing on 48 high-count MBLs, 47 of them with 2-4 sequential samples analyzed, exploring the mutation status of 21 driver genes and evaluating clonal evolution. We found somatic non-synonymous mutations in 25 MBLs (52%) at the initial time point analyzed, including 12 (25%) with >1 mutated gene. In cases that subsequently progressed to CLL, mutations were detected 41 months (median) prior to progression. Excepting NOTCH1, TP53 and XPO1, which showed a lower incidence in MBL, genes were mutated with a similar prevalence to CLL, indicating the early origin of most driver mutations in the MBL/CLL continuum. MBLs with mutations at the initial time point analyzed were associated with shorter time-to-treatment (TTT). Furthermore, MBLs showing subclonal expansion of driver mutations on sequential evaluation had shorter progression time to CLL and shorter TTT. These findings support that clonal evolution has prognostic implications already at the pre-malignant MBL stage, anticipating which individuals will progress earlier to CLL.

A naturalistic multicenter study of intramuscular olanzapine in the treatment of acutely agitated manic or schizophrenic patients.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a naturalistic, multicenter, 24-hour, nonrandomized, observational study describing for the first time the effectiveness and safety of intramuscular (IM) olanzapine to control agitation and aggression in "real world" patients with psychosis. The data thus obtained was compared with that reported from randomized double-blind clinical trials. METHOD: 92 patients attending psychiatric emergency settings were enrolled. The study subjects were 44 male and 48 female patients with a mean age of 36.5+/-12 years and DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of schizophrenia (48.9%), psychotic disorder not specified (23.9%) or bipolar disorder (27.2%). 10 mg IM olanzapine was administered to all patients. An optional second injection was permitted> or =2 hours later in line with hospital policy. Evaluations (PANSS-EC and CGI-S) were performed at baseline and 2 and 24 hours following the IM injection. RESULTS: Two hours after IM olanzapine was administered, a mean decrease of -9.6 in the PANSS-EC from a baseline score of 26.5 was recorded. At the 24-hour endpoint a statistically and clinically significant reduction in the PANSS-EC scores (11.6+/-5.3) was observed as compared with values at study entry (26.5+/-5.9) and at 2 hours endpoint (16.9+/-9.3), which represent a mean decrease of -14.9 and -5.3, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present naturalistic study provides naturalistic data on the effectiveness of IM olanzapine in the treatment of acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania that is in line the data obtained in randomized double-blind clinical trials.

[Effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation in stroke patients: a systematic review]. / Efectividad de la electroestimulacion funcional en pacientes con ictus: revision sistematica.

INTRODUCTION: Functional electrical stimulation is one of the physiotherapy techniques used today for the management of patients who have suffered a stroke. AIM: To determine the effectiveness of the functional electrical stimulation in general skills, gait, general capacities and quality of stroke patients through a systematic review. Also has secondary objective was raised to know the best method of application of this technique. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a literature search in Medline, PEDro and Cochrane Library. Clinical trials and systematic reviews about the effectiveness of the functional electrical stimulation in stroke patients from last five years were included. RESULTS: Ten clinical trials and one systematic review were included and we analyzed and compared the most relevant data extracted of them. CONCLUSIONS: Functional electrical stimulation shows an improvement in the quality of life, motor abilities and gait in stroke patients. It is more effective associated with other physiotherapy techniques. Functional electrical stimulation alone does not provide better results than other physiotherapy techniques. The implementation of the technique in more than one muscle group, triggering impulses by active movements and associating with other interventions, is the best approach to application of functional electrical stimulation.

TITLE: Efectividad de la electroestimulacion funcional en pacientes con ictus: revision sistematica.Introduccion. La electroestimulacion funcional es una de las tecnicas fisioterapicas empleadas en la actualidad para el abordaje de los pacientes que han sufrido un ictus. Objetivo. Conocer la efectividad de la electroestimulacion funcional en las capacidades generales, la marcha y la calidad de vida de los pacientes con ictus mediante una revision sistematica. Como objetivo secundario se planteo conocer el mejor metodo de aplicacion de esta tecnica. Pacientes y metodos. Se ha realizado una busqueda bibliografica en las bases de datos Medline, PEDro y Biblioteca Cochrane. Se han incluido ensayos clinicos y revisiones sistematicas de los ultimos cinco años que valorasen la efectividad de la electroestimulacion funcional en pacientes tras sufrir un ictus. Resultados. Se incluyeron 10 ensayos clinicos y una revision sistematica con metaanalisis, de los cuales se extrajeron los datos mas relevantes, se analizaron y se compararon. Conclusiones. La electroestimulacion funcional puede ayudar en la mejora de la calidad de vida, las capacidades motoras y la funcionalidad de la marcha en pacientes que han sufrido un ictus. No se puede afirmar que por si sola aporte mejores resultados que otras tecnicas convencionales de fisioterapia, y se observa una mayor efectividad con la aplicacion de electroestimulacion funcional asociada a otras tecnicas de fisioterapia. El mejor abordaje de la aplicacion con electroestimulacion funcional es el realizado en mas de un grupo muscular, desencadenando los impulsos mediante movimientos activos y en combinacion con otras intervenciones fisioterapicas.

Insomnia in patients admitted to psychiatric hospital departments / Insomnio en pacientes que ingresan en unidades de hospitalización psiquiátricas.

Background. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of insomnia in patients requiring admittance to short-stay hospital psychiatric units. Methodology. A descriptive observational study was designed with the participation of 16 units for brief adult psychiatric hospitalization in Spain. The Athens Insomnia Scale was the instrument used. Results. Four hundred and twenty-five patients were included, with an average value on the global score of the Athens Insomnia Scale of 8.56 (SD: 5.78). The item that obtained the highest average score concerned the presence of waking up during the night, followed by that concerning the time needed to fall asleep. The estimated prevalence of insomnia is 53% (CI 95%). Conclusions. Insomnia is a problem with a high prevalence in psychiatric hospitalization units. The greatest difficulties are found in inducing sleep and staying asleep.

Panel sequencing for clinically oriented variant screening and copy number detection in 142 untreated multiple myeloma patients.

We employed a customized Multiple Myeloma (MM)-specific Mutation Panel (M(3)P) to screen a homogenous cohort of 142 untreated MM patients for relevant mutations in a selection of disease-specific genes. M(3)Pv2.0 includes 77 genes selected for being either actionable targets, potentially related to drug-response or part of known key pathways in MM biology. We identified mutations in potentially actionable genes in 49% of patients and provided prognostic evidence of STAT3 mutations. This panel may serve as a practical alternative to more comprehensive sequencing approaches, providing genomic information in a timely and cost-effective manner, thus allowing clinically oriented variant screening in MM.