Multiple Myeloma
• Definition
· Multiple Myeloma is a type of cancer.
· Multiple Myeloma affects certain cells of your immune system called plasma cells.
Plasma cells are important in the production of antibodies. Therefore if they do not work correctly, the immune system does not work well and there is an increased risk of infection.
• Overview
· Multiple Myeloma is not a common form of cancer accounting for only 2% of cancer patients.
Almost 20,000 people are diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma every year.
· Multiple Myeloma is uncommon before age 40.
• Symptoms
· The most common symptoms of Multiple Myeloma are:
Bone pain, the most common symptom of Multiple Myeloma, that usually affects the back and ribs
Fatigue due to anemia
Infection
• Complications
· Multiple Myeloma can cause bone pain and will increase the risk of breaking a bone.
· Multiple Myeloma interferes with the function of the immune system and patients with Multiple Myeloma have an increased risk of developing certain types of infections.
• Treatment
Chemotherapy
Bone marrow transplantation
References
Novel therapeutic approaches for multiple myeloma. Nature Rev Cancer 2:927, 2002 [PMID: 12459731]
Posted on July 27, 2009
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