Understanding Multiple Myeloma
(BPT) - Being diagnosed with cancer can be overwhelming. This may be true for people living with multiple myeloma, a rare and progressive blood cancer for which there is no cure. Learning more about multiple myeloma through research may help patients feel more empowered and informed.
“When I was first diagnosed, I felt completely lost and hopeless,” said Ruth Anglin, who is living with multiple myeloma. “As I began to research and learn more about multiple myeloma, I started to better understand the disease and the questions I should be asking my doctor. I also connected with other people living with multiple myeloma. Hearing about their experiences made me feel like I wasn’t alone.”
What is multiple myeloma?
Approximately 25,000 Americans were diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2014. It forms in plasma cells found in bone marrow (the soft, inner part of bones). Plasma cells are a type of white blood cell that make antibodies, which help the body fight infection and disease. In multiple myeloma, plasma cells grow out of control, forming tumors that take over the space where bone marrow grows. As a result, normal blood cells get crowded out.
Multiple myeloma can make patients tired and weak, more prone to infections, and cause them to bleed or bruise easily. It also disrupts normal bone formation and may result in bone pain, bone weakening over time, or fracture.
Multiple myeloma can be difficult to diagnose because many patients do not experience symptoms until the disease has reached an advanced stage. One in three people with multiple myeloma, however, are diagnosed prior to having any symptoms.
For most patients, the disease course of multiple myeloma is characterized by a pattern of remission and relapse, which can have a significant impact on a patient’s daily life. Often they will need the help of a caregiver.
Who is at risk?
In the U.S., multiple myeloma is usually diagnosed in people over age 50. It affects men more often than women, and is twice as common in African Americans as Caucasians. Research suggests that this cancer may be more common in people who are overweight or obese. Additionally, those with a sibling or parent with myeloma are four times more likely to have the disease.
However, having any of these risk factors does not mean a person will get multiple myeloma, and the disease can also occur in people without any risk factors.
Research in Multiple Myeloma
Thirty years ago, most people with multiple myeloma survived only two years after being diagnosed. However, recent treatment advances have more than doubled the length of survival, with many people living between four and seven years after diagnosis.
“The advances we have seen in medicine have greatly improved our ability to treat cancers like multiple myeloma,” said Dr. Ravi Vij, Associate Professor, Medicine, Washington University. “But the journey for patients is complicated.”
Today, research in multiple myeloma is evolving. A promising area of research is immuno-oncology, which aims to use the body’s own immune system to recognize and help fight cancer. One company at the forefront of immuno-oncology is Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has a long-standing heritage in cancer research.
Where can I learn more?
- immunooncologynow.com
- multiplemyeloma.org (Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation)
- myeloma.org (International Myeloma Foundation)
- lls.org (The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)