MARS supports faster myeloma FISH with ~100% of samples meeting enrichment criteria

Effective plasma-cell enrichment is a critical step in multiple myeloma testing, as the cells of interest may represent only a small fraction of a bone marrow sample. Insufficient enrichment can limit the sensitivity of downstream genomic analysis, including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

At Pathology Queensland, the introduction of Applied Cells’ MARS® Bar Flex platform has significantly improved this process. According to Dr. Adayapalam Nandini, Discipline Director of Genomics at Pathology Queensland, the system achieves 98–100% enrichment efficiency, compared with approximately 60% obtained with other platforms.

The improved workflow has already been used to process approximately 150 cases, with the team reporting the identification of genetic abnormalities in substantially more patients than with the previous approach. This is particularly important for patients in regional areas, where sample transportation and low target-cell numbers can make successful testing more challenging.

MARS® Bar Flex uses automated, in-flow immunomagnetic cell separation to enrich CD138+ plasma cells directly from bone marrow samples before downstream applications such as FISH. By increasing the proportion of target cells and reducing the presence of non-target cells, the platform can help laboratories obtain more informative samples for genetic analysis.

Applied Cells has also evaluated MARS®-based CD138+ enrichment in a study involving 20 multiple myeloma samples. Enrichment before FISH increased the proportion of detected cytogenetically abnormal cells compared with a column-based enrichment method, with additional positive probes identified in several cases.

The Queensland team is now exploring the expansion of this approach towards more comprehensive genomic profiling in multiple myeloma, demonstrating how improved cell enrichment can help laboratories obtain more information from challenging samples.

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