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CA Cancer J Clin 2007; 57:301-318
doi: 10.3322/CA.57.5.301
© 2007 American Cancer Society
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 Multiple Myeloma: Charging Toward a Bright Future
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Multiple Myeloma

Charging Toward a Bright Future

Jed A. Katzel, MD, Parameswaran Hari, MD and David H. Vesole, MD, PhD

Dr. Katzel is Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center; and St. Vincent's Hospital, New York Medical College, New York, NY.
Dr. Hari is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
Dr. Vesole is Attending Physician, St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York, NY.

This article is available online at http://CAonline.AmCancerSoc.org
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Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable clonal B-cell malignancy with terminally differentiated plasma cells. It afflicts approximately 55,000 people in the United States. Over the past 5 years, significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and assessment of patients with MM. Significant advances include a simplified staging system, which has replaced the more cumbersome Durie-Salmon staging system; an updated uniform international response criteria; the development of a sensitive new serum test to detect free light chain production (free light chain assay); the recognition of specific adverse cytogenetic abnormalities; and the evolution of genomics, which will identify specific and targeted therapies for individual MM patients. For the first time in decades, major therapeutic advances have been implemented in the treatment of MM patients. These include 2 new classes of agent: immunomodulatory drugs and proteosome inhibitors. In addition, clinical trials have solidified the role of hematopoietic stem cell transplant and established the benefits of post-transplant maintenance therapy. Finally, a number of new agents are in development that specifically target the myeloma cells and/or the bone marrow microenvironment. These advances have resulted in expanded treatment options, prolonged disease control and survival, and improved quality of life for patients with MM.






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Copyright © 2007 by American Cancer Society.