Myeloma
March 13, 2024
This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Michael Rosenzweig, M.D., Chief, Division of Multiple Myeloma, City of Hope® Duarte
Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is a type of blood cancer that develops when plasma cells — infection-fighting blood cells in the immune system — become abnormal and grow and divide uncontrollably to become tumors.
These tumors then crowd out normal blood cells in the patient's bone marrow, weakening the immune system. This may make the patient more susceptible to an infection. The cancerous cells may also travel through the patient's bloodstream and affect bones throughout the body.
Myeloma is a relatively rare cancer — accounting for an estimated 1.8% of all new cancer cases in the United States. The most significant risk factor for developing myeloma is older age, and this type of cancer rarely affects patients over the age of 45.
Myeloma doesn’t always cause symptoms. That’s why some cases are only discovered after blood or urine tests yield abnormal results. When symptoms do occur, they may include bone pain, unexplained fevers, easy bruising or bleeding, fatigue, weakness and frequent infections.
If a myeloma diagnosis is suspected, the care team will perform a series of tests, which may include blood and urine tests, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, imaging studies and genetic tests.
When a patient receives a myeloma diagnosis, the care team may tell them they have a specific type of the disease. Treatments are then customized to that type of cancer, as well as the patient’s goals and overall health. The types of disease include smoldering, light chain, extramedullary, active myeloma and solitary plasmacytoma, among others.
Myeloma treatment plans are individualized to each patient's specific needs and disease stage. Options may include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell or bone marrow transplantation, CAR T-cell therapy, targeted therapy and more.
New blood cancer treatments are being developed every day, and City of Hope patients are just steps away from labs where those studies are taking place. That proximity means you benefit from something unique in cancer care: "bench-to-bedside" treatment that allows us to bring breakthroughs from the lab to patients' bedsides, with lifesaving speed.
When you come to City of Hope, you have access to a strong network of support services and staff to help you and your family along your myeloma journey.
Patient Stories
Our Expertise in Treating Myeloma
City of Hope is among a dozen national centers that treat myeloma with a multidisciplinary team solely focused on this type of cancer.
A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, City of Hope has been named one of America's top cancer hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for nearly two decades. Through our cancer experts in Duarte, California, as well as Phoenix, Chicago and Atlanta, our blood cancer experts offer leading-edge care and treatments for myeloma.
Our Myeloma Program Highlights
City of Hope's myeloma program is staffed with experts who provide leading-edge care and perform innovative research to better understand the disease and to tailor each patient's treatment to his or her goals and myeloma type. Below are a few of the highlights of this program.
- The Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research within the Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute is among the largest programs of its kind in California, treating hundreds of new myeloma patients every year. It leads the development of a diverse portfolio of over 15 active phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for all multiple myeloma stages.
- The center aims to make multiple myeloma and related light-chain amyloidosis manageable and nonlethal through immunotherapy and rational combinatorial therapies.
- It aggressively pursues research on improved treatments and collaborates with myeloma and amyloid experts nationally and internationally.
- City of Hope offers promising therapies, like gene, CAR T-cell and antibody, that boost the immune system's cancer-fighting response as part of the Kenneth Goldman and Briskin Family Clinical Trials Program.
- Our experts have unrivaled immunotherapy expertise — including involvement in groundbreaking early drug trials like for daratumumab, the first monoclonal antibody approved for successful myeloma treatment.
- We collaborate with the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium.
- City of Hope is home to one of the most prominent U.S. blood and bone marrow transplant centers. Its innovative approaches include combining transplantation with new therapies.
- We understand unique issues for older patients and use computer models to predict toxicity and tailor treatments for efficacy and fewer side effects.
- Our highly trained, experienced nurses offer outpatient support for bone marrow transplant patients.
- We customize genetic testing and drug therapy to the molecular profile of specific myeloma types.
Each myeloma patient's care includes regular interaction and input from hematologists, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists, nurses, social workers, and specially trained support staff. This team brings together deep experience and diverse perspectives to arrive at the ideal treatment for each patient. Throughout and following treatment, patients are supported and monitored by our survivorship clinics.
City of Hope provides every myeloma patient with access to a strong network of blood cancer support services designed to help with needs like financial counseling and treatment side effect management.
Our developments in the areas of breakthrough cancer drugs, bone marrow transplants and CAR T cell therapy are recognized internationally.
Our leadership in research and innovation continually enhances our ability to provide novel and differentiated approaches to blood cancer care.
Myeloma News
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Understanding Multiple Myeloma.
https://themmrf.org/multiple-myeloma/American Cancer Society (2024, January 19). Key Statistics About Multiple Myeloma.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/multiple-myeloma/about/key-statistics.htmNational Cancer Institute (2024). Myeloma Stat Facts.
https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/mulmy.html