| Summary: | <i>Background:</i> Multiple myeloma is a hematological neoplasm characterized by a clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality and variable survival. Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography using 18F-deoxyfluoroglucose (FDG-PET/CT) is a promising technique for initial staging of symptomatic multiple myeloma patients. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic value of this technique at baseline in symptomatic multiple myeloma patients included in two large European prospective studies (French and Italian). <i>Methods:</i> We retrospectively performed a combined harmonized analysis of 227 newly diagnosed transplant eligible multiple myeloma patients from two separate phase III trials. All images were centrally reviewed and analyzed using visual criteria and maximal standardized uptake value. An ad-hoc approach (called modified Combat) was applied to harmonize the data and then remove the “country effect” in order to strengthen the reliability of the final conclusions. <i>Results:</i> Using a multivariate analysis including treatment arm, R-ISS score, presence of extra-medullary disease and bone SUVmax, only bone SUVmax (<i>p</i> = 0.016) was an independent prognosis factor with an OS threshold of 7.1. For PFS, treatment arm and presence of extra-medullary disease were both independent prognosis biomarkers (<i>p</i> = 0.022 and 0.006 respectively). <i>Conclusions</i>: Our results show that bone SUVmax is a simple and reliable biomarker to analyze FDG-PET/CT at baseline that strongly correlates with a poorer prognosis for MM patients.
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