What’s New in Multiple Myeloma Research?

Important research into multiple myeloma is being done in university hospitals, medical centers, and other institutions around the world. Each year, scientists find out more about what causes the disease, how to better diagnose and classify it, and how to improve treatment.

Research into the changes inside multiple myeloma cells

Researchers are constantly learning more about the changes in the genes and proteins inside myeloma cells that help them grow. Knowing about these types of changes is helping them design better medicines to treat myeloma. It's also helping doctors figure out which myelomas are at higher risk for progressing. This could affect which treatments a person should get.

Researchers have also found that bone marrow support tissues and bone cells make growth factors that can help myeloma cells grow. In turn, the myeloma cells make substances that cause bone cells to undergo changes that weaken the bones. These discoveries are helping researchers develop new drugs to block these growth factors, slow down the cancer, and reduce bone destruction.

Research on smoldering multiple myeloma

Smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) usually has a low risk of turning into active myeloma right away. But in some people, the SMM has features that make it more likely to develop into active myeloma.

Doctors are looking to better define which features of SMM make this more likely. Treating people whose SMM has these features, rather than waiting until symptoms appear, may help delay the progression to active myeloma. It may also improve survival. This is an active area of research.

Research on treating multiple myeloma

There's been a great deal of progress in multiple myeloma treatment in recent years. While myeloma is still very hard to cure, many newer types of medicines to treat multiple myeloma have become available. These medicines have greatly extended the length of time most people live with this disease.

Doctors are now trying to figure out how best to combine these medicines, which order to use them in, and which ones might be more helpful for people whose myeloma has certain features (such as certain gene or chromosome changes).

For example, newer treatments such as T-cell engagers (TCEs) and CAR T-cell therapy are now available. These treatments help the immune system find and attack cancer cells. Most often, these are used later in the course of treatment, after other medicines have been tried. But doctors are now studying if using them earlier might be more helpful.

As researchers learn more about the gene and protein changes inside myeloma cells that help them grow, they are also developing newer types of medicines to treat myeloma. Many of these are now being studied in clinical trials.