Role of the Host Microbiota and Il-17 in Favoring Multiple Myeloma Progression (MICRO-MM)

February 29, 2024 updated by: Matteo Bellone, MD, IRCCS San Raffaele

Goal of this observational, non-interventional study is to demonstrate that in humans a correlation exists between bone marrow (BM) levels of the cytokine interleukin 17 (IL-17) and composition of the gut microbiota in patients affected by smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) or multiple myeloma (MM).

Enrolled SMM/MM patients will be analyzed for their bone marrow levels of IL-17 together with the distribution of T helper 17 lymphocytes in their BM and peripheral blood. These analyses will be correlated with analyses of the patients' gut microbiome to identify commensal bacteria potentially involved in Th17 cell expansion.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Each year, approximately 10% of asymptomatic smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) patients progress to incurable multiple myeloma (MM), a neoplasm of plasma cells causing anemia, bone lesions, increased blood calcium levels and renal damage. Lack of consolidated predictive biomarkers of disease progression makes the selection of SMM candidates to early treatment difficult, and a watch and wait approach is still preferred for these patients. We have recently reported results from a retrospective clinical study showing that SMM patients with higher levels of bone marrow (BM) interleukin-17 (IL-17) were at higher risk to rapidly progress to MM than SMM patients with lower IL-17 levels. Several lines of evidence in autoimmune diseases and cancer link IL-17-producing T lymphocytes (Th17) with the gut microbiota, and evidence exists in patients affected by MM that the gut microbiota impacts disease progression and susceptibility to therapies. Such link has not been investigated in patients affected by SMM.

Goal of this observational, non-interventional study is to demonstrate that in humans a correlation exists between BM levels of IL-17 and composition of the gut microbiota.

Enrolled SMM/MM patients will be analyzed for their bone marrow levels of IL-17 together with the distribution of Th17 cells in their BM and peripheral blood. These analyses will be correlated with analyses of the patients' gut microbiome to identify commensal bacteria potentially involved in Th17 cell expansion. We will seek a direct link between gut microbiota, IL-17 and MM by transplanting mice affected by MM with stool samples from the enrolled SMM/MM patients. We expect a more aggressive disease in avatar mice transplanted with stools from IL-17-high patients when compared to IL-17-low patients. Because samples will be collected both in Italy and in the USA, the study will also allow investigating the impact of additional environmental factors (e.g. Mediterranean versus high-fat diet) on host microbiota and IL-17-driven MM. Thus, primary outcome of the study will be evidence of a correlation between BM levels of IL-17 and the composition of the gut microbiota in patients affected by SMM/MM.

The recruited patients will also be monitored for disease progression or relapse after therapy. The study has no statistical power to define correlates of disease progression in these patients. However, the gut microbiome and the levels of BM IL-17 in SMM patients will be correlated to time to MM progression. Additionally, microbiome and BM IL-17 levels in MM patients eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) will be correlated with response to the induction phase, which is routinely evaluated within 3 months. We expect better responses in patients with low levels of BM IL-17. Additionally, based on recently published experience on the role of enteric microbiome in influencing the HSCT outcomes, we have begun collecting stool samples from MM patients before and after HSCT. Therefore, once we identify patients with early relapse, we will be able to determine if they were colonized with tumor-promoting commensal bacteria following the transplant.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

62

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Milano
      • Milan, Milano, Italy, 20132
        • IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

52 patients fulfilling the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for SMM or MM, and 10 healthy controls older than 18 years and accepting to sign the informed consent

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

patients fulfilling the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for SMM or MM, and 10 healthy controls older than 18 years and accepting to sign the informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-Caucasian subjects.
  • Subjects younger than 18 years.
  • Subjects that did not accept to sign the informed consent.
  • Subjects reporting infectious diseases requiring antibiotic therapy in the previous three months, ongoing antibiotic therapy or prophylaxis.
  • Subjects who already underwent HSCT or under pharmacologic therapy for MM.
  • Subjects affected by autoimmune diseases with the exception of thyroiditis.
  • Subjects affected by HIV, HBV or HCV.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
PATIENTS WITH MM
patients fulfilling the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for MM
PATIENTS WITH sMM
patients fulfilling the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for SMM
Controls
healthy controls

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
the role of microbiota and IL17 in MM
Time Frame: 5YRS
This study will provide direct evidence that the human gut microbiota modulate BM Th17 cells and MM progression . It will also provide the ground for a larger prospective clinical study on the predictive value of BM IL-17 in SMM patients.
5YRS

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: matteo bellone, md, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 14, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 5, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

February 5, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 23, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

February 6, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

March 1, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 29, 2024

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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