Myeloma and Multiple Myeloma
Myeloma is not a common cancer type, accounting for less than 1% of new cancer cases and 10% of blood and bone marrow cancers. Myeloma develops when plasma cells — infection-fighting blood cells in the immune system — become abnormal and grow and divide uncontrollably to become tumors.
Myeloma is a relatively rare cancer — accounting for around 10% of blood cancer cases. It develops in plasma cells — white blood cells that grow in the bone marrow.
Myeloma is a group of cancers with overlapping features — identifying its different forms is challenging — and since every patient’s disease looks different, getting an accurate diagnosis is essential.
City of Hope’s approach to treating myeloma starts with a coordinated, multidisciplinary care team comprising myeloma specialists, whose main goals are controlling your disease so that you can live longer and maintain an active life.
Getting treated for myeloma at City of Hope means you are steps away from labs where new cancer treatments are being developed every day. That proximity means you benefit from something unique in cancer care — “bench-to-bedside” treatment.
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
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 over a decade. We are among a dozen national centers that treat myeloma with a multidisciplinary team solely focused on this type of cancer.
Our Myeloma Program Highlights:
- The Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research within the Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute:
- The center is among the largest programs of its kind in California, seeing hundreds of new patients per year. It leads the development of a diverse portfolio of over 15 active Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for all multiple myeloma stages.
- It 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.
- Promising therapies, like gene, CAR T cell and antibody, that boost the immune system's cancer-fighting response. Part of the Kenneth Goldman and Briskin Family Clinical Trials Program.
- Unrivaled immunotherapy expertise — including involvement in groundbreaking early drug trials like for daratumumab, the first monoclonal antibody approved for successful myeloma treatment
- Collaboration with the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
- One of the most prominent U.S. blood and bone marrow transplant centers. Its innovative approaches include combining transplantation with new therapies.
- Understanding unique issues for older patients; using computer models to predict the toxicity and tailoring treatments for efficacy and fewer side effects
- Outpatient bone marrow transplantation, provided by highly trained, experienced nurses
- Genetic testing and drug therapy customized to the molecular profile of specific myeloma types
- Survivorship clinics that support and monitor patients throughout the disease
Your 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 you.
Advancements and current innovative treatment approaches have resulted in survival rates at City of Hope that exceed the SEER National median survival for multiple myeloma.
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 cancer care.
Azra Borogovac, M.D., M.S., is a hematologist at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center. For Dr. Borogovac, the patient is the most important part of the medical team. She sees the opportunity to provide care to people with cancer as a privilege.
Scott Goldsmith, M.D., specializes in the treatment of multiple myeloma, which is also the focus of his prolific research.
Maung Myo Htut, M.D., is determined to find more effective treatments for multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer that strikes about 30,000 Americans each year. He believes the body's own immune system may hold the key.
Murali Janakiram, M.D., M.S., is a hematologist-oncologist and associate professor in the department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
Amrita Krishnan, M.D., directs the Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research at City of Hope's cancer research hospital, seeking to make gains in one of the most rapidly changing areas in cancer research.
Sarah S. Lee, M.D., is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, who studies precision therapy for plasma cell disorders like multiple myeloma and amyloidosis.
Nitya Nathwani, M.D., is an associate professor in Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and a hematologist/oncologist at City of Hope in Los Angeles, California.
Michael Rosenzweig, M.D., is Chief, Division of Multiple Myeloma and a hematologist-oncologist, in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope in Duarte, CA.
