The American Cancer Society defines multiple myeloma as cancer that starts in plasma cells. Plasma cells are found in bone marrow and also have a role in the body's immune system. When cancer forms in the plasma cells, a tumor forms, typically in a bone, but it can also form in other tissues. Treatment for multiple myeloma typically depends on the stage of the cancer and may include one mode of treatment or a combination of treatments.
Biologic Therapy
Biologic therapy involves medication that helps the patient's immune system fight the cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, two kinds of biologic therapy used to treat multiple myeloma are interferon and erythropoietin. Interferon is a medication that resembles a hormone-like substance that bone marrow and some white blood cells make. This drug can help slow myeloma cell growth and can help prolong remission. Erythropoietin can help boost the red blood cell count, relieve anemia and reduce the need for blood transfusions during chemotherapy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that patients with multiple myeloma who have received this medication had shorter survival times when this drug was used.
Bisphosphonates
Myeloma cells weaken bones and can cause fractures, and bisphosphonates are medications that help bones stay strong. Bisphosphonates used in the treatment of multiple myeloma include pamidronate (brand name Aredia) and zoledronic acid (Zometa). These are intravenous drugs that help prevent bone damage from progressing in people with multiple myeloma.
Stem Cell Transplantation
For patients 70 years of age and younger with myeloma who are in good overall health, stem cell transplantation has become a standard treatment, according to the American Cancer Society. There are two kinds of stem cell transplants: autologous and allogeneic. Autologous stem cell transplants use the patient's own stem cells after a course of high-dose chemotherapy; allogeneic stem cell transplants use donor stem cells whose tissue type is matched to the patient's after high-dose chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy and Other Medications
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells, and for multiple myeloma, combinations of medications are typically more effective than single-drug regimens. These drugs include doxorubicin, vincristine and cyclophosphamide. Corticosteroids are often prescribed with chemotherapy to reduce nausea and vomiting. Other types of drugs used to treat myeloma include angiogenesis inhibitors and targeted therapies, which attack only certain cells, proteins or blood vessel growth; these medications include lenalidomide (Revlimid) and rituximab (Rituxan).
