The main case of multiple myeloma relapse, discovered by research team

Researchers discovered the reason why multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone narrow reappears after efficient treatment. The team of researchers worked in collaboration with colleagues at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, researchers from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix. The team of researchers initially examined 7,500 genes in numerous myeloma cells that are resistant to common group of drugs, carfilzomib and bortezomib (proteasome inhibitors). There were two genes discovered that control the response to the inhibitor. “Our findings reveal a way forward toward a cure for multiple myeloma, which involves targeting both the progenitor cells and the plasma cells at the same time”, says Rodger Tiedemann, M.D., a hematologist specializing in multiple myeloma and lymphoma at Princes Margaret. “Now that we know that progenitor cells persist and lead to relapse after treatment, we can move quickly into clinical trials, measure this residual disease in patients, and attempt to target it with new drugs or with drugs that may already exist”. Jonathan Keats, Ph.D., head of TGen`s Multiple Myeloma Research Laboratory, said: “This study, which leverages data generated at TGen as part of the Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative, shows how mutations acquired by multiple myeloma tumors can make a tumor resistant to specific therapies and highlights the importance of TGen`s precision medicine approaches”.