Last updated on August 29th, 2017 at 10:17 am

What is myeloma?

Most people don’t know what myeloma is.  In fact it’s a cancer that develops from plasma cells (white blood cells that are part of the immune system) in the bone marrow.

Myeloma can affect any part of the body where bone marrow is found, such as:

• pelvis
• spine
• ribcage
• scull
• long bones of arms and legs
• shoulders
• hips

It can also affect multiple parts of the body and this is known as multiple myeloma.

The disease is caused when plasma cells (which normally produce antibodies that fight infection) become malignant and only produce one antibody – paraprotein – that has no function at all.

Who does myeloma affect?

People over the age of 65 are most likely to be affected by myeloma, although there are some people as young as 20 who have the disease.  Around 15,000 – 20,000 people have myeloma in the UK at any one time and in the region of 4,800 people are diagnosed with the disease every year.

What are the symptoms of myeloma?

Myeloma isn’t detected by the presence of lumps or tumours as with many other cancers.  Problems are caused by a build-up of abnormal plasma cells in bone marrow and paraprotein in urine or blood.  Whilst not everyone will experience all symptoms of myeloma, some of them are:

• Bone disease – mostly affecting the middle or lower back, the rib cage and the hips.
• Pain from the bone disease.
• Anaemia caused by a reduction in red blood cells as well as treatment.
• Weakness/breathlessness
• Fatigue caused by the myeloma itself, anaemia or treatment.
• Recurring infection as treatment can interfere with the immune system.
• Kidney damage caused by the myeloma or as a side-effect of treatment.
• Hypercalcaemia (calcium level in the blood is too high) can cause thirst, nausea, confusion and constipation.
• Peripheral neuropathy (damage to the nerves making up the peripheral nervous system) can be caused by myeloma and treatment.

Treatment for myeloma

As a relapsing-remitting cancer, those who suffer myeloma may experience periods when they need treatment followed by periods when they don’t – when they are in remission or have plateaued.

Whilst there is currently no cure for myeloma, treatments are very effective at reducing and controlling myeloma, including when it has relapsed, relieving its symptoms and improving the quality of and prolonging life.

Myeloma is treated with a combination of drugs, administered in cycles (periods of time ranging from weeks to months).  According to Myeloma UK, these drugs can include:

• chemotherapy drugs (e.g. cyclophosphamide and melphalan)
• steroids (e.g. dexamethasone and prednisolone)
• other types of anti-myeloma drugs (e.g. thalidomide, Velcade® and Revlimid®).

There are two types of treatment for myeloma.  Initial treatment and treatment for relapsed myeloma.

Initial treatment consists of varying combinations of the above mentioned drugs, sometimes followed by high-dose therapy (chemotherapy) and a stem cell transplant. Other treatments such as pain killers, radiotherapy, blood transfusions, bisphosphonates and erythropoietin (a hormone produced in the kidney) may be given to help manage the side effects and complications of myeloma – such as anaemia.

When myeloma returns after initial treatment (relapse), the main treatment is a combination of Revlimid® and dexamethasone. These treatments are usually very effective.

Find out more about research into treatment, clinical trials and the investigation of novel drugs.

If you have any concerns about your treatment or diagnosis then please contact us for a free confidential discussion with one of medical negligence experts.