Herein, we report an association between FDG PET/CT findings and the mutation characteristics of MM. Patients with high DU were more likely to have diverse and exclusive mutation profiles than those with low DU. Intensified diffuse signal patterns on MRI indicate a high tumor burden and advanced disease, which are known to result in inferior survival outcomes [16,17]. Similarly, diffuse BM uptake of FDG, which was observed in all patients with varying degrees of tracer uptake, was also associated with survival outcome [18]. In this study, over 70% of patients exhibited high DU. To determine the clinical significance of DU, we analyzed its association with known high-risk features, including a high R-ISS stage and CA; however, no significant links were identified. The number of mutations was significantly higher in patients with high DU than in those with low DU. Patients with a high mutational burden tended to exhibit an inferior OS, which is consistent with previous literature that reported negative outcomes associated with more mutations [19]. MM is preceded by a premalignancy called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MUGS), which primarily involves genetic events such as hyperdiploidy or IgH gene translocation. In the pathogenesis underlying the transition to MM from MGUS, genetic events that affect diverse signaling pathways, including the MYC, NF-κB, and MAPK pathways, plasma cell differentiation, cell cycle regulation, and DNA damage repair, are followed [20]. When considering this biological background involving MM, each mutated gene detected in patients with high DU can play a key role in the genetic signaling pathways, thereby contributing to the progression of MM. Mutations such as KRAS and NRAS are well-known driver genes that are detected in up to 40% of patients with MM, and affect the MAPK pathways [20]. Other mutations, such as ATM and TP53, affect the DNA damage repair pathway [20]. Notably, several epigenetic mutations, including EP300, TET2, ARID2, H1-4, CREBBP, and KMT2C, were frequently detected in patients with high DU. Moreover, the biological processes associated with epigenetic pathways, such as chromatin remodeling and histone remodeling, were predominantly enriched in the gene ontology analysis of the mutations detected in high DU, as shown in Figure S4. These epigenetic regulations promote tumorigenesis in various hematologic malignancies and have been proposed as a mechanism explaining disease progression and relapse in MM [21]. Limited investigations into the role of epigenetics in terms of their clinical impact have been conducted in patients with MM. Mutations such as EP300 may be linked to gain/amp (1q), and the ARID gene family has been associated with inferior survival outcomes [22]. HUWE1, which was exclusively detected in patients with DU, was recently identified as a novel driver mutation in MM [19]. The protein encoded by HUWE1 modulates c-Myc, which is an oncogene that is potentially linked to the early pathogenesis and disease progression of MM [23]. However, we could not identify an association between the number of FLs, a known predictive parameter, and mutational profiles. The discordance of genomic information between FL and BM, often referred to as spatial heterogeneity, may be involved [24]. To investigate this association, alternative approaches, such as tissue biopsy of FL or liquid biopsy, are necessary.
In the serial follow-up results, most mutations present at diagnosis disappeared concurrently with the improvement in PET/CT findings, and new mutations emerged. It is challenging to conclude whether mutational evolution was primarily driven by selective or acquired processes and to understand the biological implications of this evolution because of the limited number of follow-up cases. However, we reasonably hypothesized that the residual disease on imaging may be associated with mutational evolution, as supported by the two patient cases: patient 14, who showed no improvement in DU alongside the emergence of new mutations, and patient 7, who exhibited a complete imaging response with the disappearance of mutations. In particular, patient 14 relapsed earlier than patient 7. Considering that early relapse predicted inferior survival [25], mutational evolution may be potential mechanism that explains the biological implications of PET/CT findings and early relapse.
However, this study has some limitations. The number of included cases was too small, particularly for serial follow-ups, to reach statistical significance. In addition, the biological implications of PET/CT could not be fully explored because we adopted targeted sequencing rather than whole exome or whole genome sequencing.
In conclusion, our study identified a high mutational burden in patients with a high diffuse BM uptake in FDG PET/CT imaging, which was likely to result in inferior survival outcomes. Moreover, multioncogenic pathways, including epigenetic regulators relevant to disease initiation, were primarily observed in patients with high DU. Diffuse BM lesions may reflect the heterogeneous characteristics of MM and could explain the disease course that is characterized by relapse despite the use of novel agents. To reinforce these findings, further investigation with a larger cohort of patients using NGS that covers the entire genome is required.