Figure 1: Cell-free DNA concentrations in blood plasma of MM patients.
From: Circulating tumour DNA sequence analysis as an alternative to multiple myeloma bone marrow aspirates
(a) Comparison of cfDNA yields in blood plasma samples from patients with MM and other cancer types (Supplementary Table 2). Effect of MM stage at diagnosis (b), disease status at blood draw, classified as newly diagnosed or early (1–3 prior lines of therapy) or late relapsed (>3 prior lines of therapy) (c), and lactase dehydrogenase concentrations in plasma at blood draw (d) on the cfDNA concentrations detectable in blood plasma of MM patients. For each group, the exact sample size is indicated in the figure, underneath group name. All data points represent unique measurements and do not include any technical or biological replicates. The distributions of cfDNA concentrations in each group are shown as box plots, where the central rectangle spans the first to the third quartile (interquartile range or IQR). A segment inside the rectangle shows the median, and ‘whiskers’ above and below the box show the value 1.5 × IQR above or below the third or the first quartile, respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank test or Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test was used for comparison of two or multiple groups, respectively, with P value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. Additional clinical measurements and cfDNA yields are provided in Supplementary Data 1.
