About the MMRF CoMMpass Study¶

Background & Purpose¶

The MMRF CoMMpass Study is a landmark, longitudinal, multi-center research effort designed to comprehensively map the genomic and clinical landscape of multiple myeloma (MM). Launched in 2011, CoMMpass represents one of the most ambitious precision medicine initiatives in cancer and has generated the largest integrated genomic and clinical dataset ever assembled for a single cancer type.

Study Overview (At a Glance)¶

Study Design: Prospective, longitudinal, observational study
Sponsor: The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
Collaborators: Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), the Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), and numerous academic and industry partners
Enrollment: More than 1,100 patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma
Clinical Sites: 90+ sites across North America and Europe
Follow-up: Up to 8 years of longitudinal clinical and molecular data per patient

The study was intentionally designed to reflect real-world medical practice, enabling insights that translate directly to patient care and clinical trial design.

CoMMpass Study Overview — Overview of the MMRF CoMMpass Study design and data generation

Overall Survival in CoMMpass — Overall survival outcomes observed in the CoMMpass cohort

CoMMpass Molecular Dataset

Study Design & Timeline¶

CoMMpass follows patients prospectively from diagnosis through multiple lines of therapy, with structured clinical assessments and repeated biospecimen collection over time.

Key milestones include:

2011: Study initiation and first patient enrollment
2012–2016: Progressive data generation and early interim analyses (IA02–IA10)
2017–2020: Expansion of genomic assays, deeper longitudinal follow-up, and public data releases
2025: Final data harmonization and release (IA24) into the MMRF Virtual Lab

This design enables detailed study of disease evolution, treatment response, resistance mechanisms, and long-term outcomes.

Data Collected¶

Across the study, CoMMpass captured a broad range of harmonized clinical and molecular data, including:

Demographic data (e.g., age, race, sex)
Disease characteristics at diagnosis
Laboratory and biomarker values
Treatment details, including:
- Induction regimens
- Transplant status
- Maintenance therapy
- Subsequent lines of treatment
Longitudinal clinical outcomes
- Response assessments
- Progression-free survival (PFS)
- Overall survival (OS)
Imaging and bone disease assessments
Pathology and cytogenetic results (when available)
Patient-reported outcomes, including quality-of-life instruments

Importantly, the study reflects a real-world patient population, with 17% Black/African American participants, consistent with the demographic distribution of myeloma incidence in the United States.

Biospecimen Collection¶

Participants contributed biospecimens at diagnosis and at structured follow-up visits, including:

Bone marrow aspirates
Peripheral blood samples

These specimens were used to generate multiple molecular data types, including:

Whole genome sequencing (WGS)
Whole exome sequencing (WES)
Bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq)
Single-cell RNA sequencing (subset of samples)
Immune profiling (including CyTOF and circulating tumor cell enumeration)

The paired clinical and molecular nature of the dataset enables deep exploration of clonal evolution, immune dynamics, and genotype–phenotype relationships.

Interim Analysis (IA) Releases¶

CoMMpass data were released incrementally through 24 Interim Analyses (IA01–IA24). Each IA represents a defined “data cut” incorporating:

Newly enrolled patients
Updated clinical follow-up
Newly sequenced biospecimens
Pipeline improvements and quality control refinements

IA24 represents the final and most comprehensive release, containing fully harmonized clinical and genomic datasets for all study participants.

Access in the MMRF Virtual Lab¶

The MMRF Virtual Lab provides controlled access to CoMMpass data through an integrated analysis and data-sharing environment.

Users can:

Build cohorts using harmonized clinical variables
Explore clinical distributions and survival outcomes
Compare patient subgroups
Download project-level summary files for historic IA releases
Access comprehensive clinical and genomic files for IA24

Additional details are available in the Interim Analysis Data Access and Clinical Data Dictionary sections.