The genomics of multiple myeloma and its relevance in the molecular classification and risk stratification of the disease

Multiple myeloma, an incurable disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of Ig-secreting plasma cells, is the second most frequent hematologic malignancies. By virtue of its clinical, biological, and molecular heterogeneity, it represents a distinctive challenge for the application of new high-throughput technologies, with the aims of a better comprehension of the molecular basis of the disease, a fine stratification and early identification of high-risk patients, and to gain insights towards targeted therapy. Particularly, over the last decade, global gene and microRNA expression, and genome-wide DNA profilings have been widely used to investigate the genomic alterations underlying the bio-clinical heterogeneity in multiple myeloma. Each approach led to promising results, either per se or when the data have been analyzed in an integrated fashion. Herein, we describe some of the most referenced or peculiar -omic approaches that had significantly improved the knowledge of multiple myeloma disease.