Myeloma - Symptoms, Treatment, Prognosis

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma, or multiple myeloma (aka generalized plasmacytoma and Rustitsky-Kalera disease), refers to hemoblastosis - malignant tumors of blood cells. In multiple myeloma, the tumor process involves blood plasma cells that are part of the immune system, namely B-lymphocytes. Tumor development occurs in the bone marrow, from where malignant cells spread throughout the body. Myeloma occurs infrequently, accounting for slightly more than 3% of all oncological pathology, and affects both women and men to the same extent.

Causes of multiple myeloma

The causes of multiple myeloma have not been reliably established. As with other types of hematological malignancies, ionizing radiation, environmental pollution and contact with carcinogens, especially with oil products and intermediate refined products, are important. However, these factors are more likely to be related to risk factors for the formation of myeloma, rather than directly to its causes, since a direct connection between them has not been identified.

The most important “damaging” factor in the case of multiple myeloma is age-related changes. The average age of patients with myeloma is 70 years, cases of the disease in people under 40 are extremely rare.

Types of multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma differs in the degree of spread of tumor cells:

• Diffuse myeloma. Malignant cells are disseminated throughout the body;
• Focal myeloma. Tumor foci are found in various organs: in the oral cavity, respiratory tract, kidneys, ovaries, intestines, soft tissues. Tumors, as a rule, are multiple; very rarely, single foci of myeloma are detected. This is an intermediate stage, in the absence of treatment for myeloma, it always turns into a focal-diffuse form;
• Focal diffuse myeloma, which combines the features of the first two types.

By the nature of the course, multiple myeloma can be

• Sluggish, or smoldering;
• Active;
• Aggressive.

Also, myeloma differentiates according to its cellular composition:

• Plasmablastic;
• Plasmacytic;
• Small cell;
• Polymorphic cell.

There is also an immunochemical classification of myeloma, which is of interest mainly to specialists.

Myeloma symptoms

For a long time, myeloma symptoms may not be detected.

The first symptom of myeloma in most cases is bone pain, which has no cause and is difficult to treat with analgesics. It is characteristic that the pains intensify at night, sometimes they are so intense that the patient with myeloma cannot sleep. Bones with multiple myeloma become fragile, resulting in their frequent fractures, sometimes for a completely insignificant reason - a person may stumble or twist a leg and get a bone fracture. Sometimes the fracture may even be spontaneous.

Since the blood plasma cells involved in the malignant process cease to perform the function of producing antibodies, the body of a myeloma patient is susceptible to various infectious diseases. Frequent colds, pustular infection, poor healing of even small superficial wounds are some of the main symptoms of myeloma.

Kidney pathology is also a characteristic symptom of myeloma. With multiple myeloma, the kidneys cannot cope with the load, up to the development of renal failure. Swelling, pain in the lumbar region, feeling unwell are myeloma symptoms caused by nephropathy (kidney damage). A general decrease in the quality of life: rapid fatigue, poor appetite, poor sleep, weakness, irritability are also signs of this type of blood cancer.

It should be noted that none of the listed symptoms of myeloma is characteristic only of this disease.

Diagnosis of myeloma

The diagnosis of multiple myeloma involves a fairly large number of studies, the most important of which are:

• Blood and urine tests;
• Bone marrow puncture followed by biopsy;
• X-ray examination of bones;
• Computer or magnetic resonance imaging, which can identify tumor foci in the tissues;
• Immunodiagnostics.

Myeloma treatment

Myeloma treatment depends on the stage of the disease and the degree of aggressiveness of the tumor process. In some cases, indolent multiple myeloma does not require special treatment, only constant medical supervision. Therapy begins in case of activation of the disease. Active, and even more aggressive forms of myeloma require immediate medical attention.

The basis for the treatment of myeloma is polychemotherapy - drug treatment by combining several cytostatic drugs at once, in several courses. Chemotherapy is supplemented with hormonal drugs that eliminate some side effects and make cytostatics more effective. Immune therapy has an important place in the treatment of myeloma, with the help of which it is possible to prolong the period of remission even in cases of persistent course of the disease. Irradiation of tumor foci and some additional methods of influencing tumor cells of blood plasma (plasmapheresis, etc.) are also used.

If the treatment of myeloma with cytostatics does not lead to the desired result, that is, it is not possible to achieve remission or at least to stop the development of the tumor, they resort to bone marrow or blood stem cell transplantation. Bone marrow and stem cell transplants are often helpful in the most severe cases.

Surgical treatment of myeloma is used to remove large tumor foci, to fix fragile bones, to eliminate tumor compression of nerve endings or great vessels. Thus, the surgical treatment of myeloma is only a complementary method.

Myeloma prognosis

The prognosis of myeloma directly depends on how active the tumor process is and how early the disease is diagnosed and adequate treatment of myeloma is started.

With indolent myeloma, the prognosis is favorable in most cases.

In general, multiple myeloma refers to hemoblastoses with a high degree of malignancy.

The prognosis of myeloma, based on medical statistics, is as follows: patients with myeloma treated at the first stage survive for 5 years after diagnosis in 50% of cases. Patients with myeloma, whose treatment was started in the second stage - in 40% of cases, and only 15% of patients with myeloma diagnosed in the third stage, survive for five years.

Observance of a healthy lifestyle by myeloma patients, rejection of bad habits, transition to proper nutrition, physical therapy to strengthen the bone apparatus and adherence to a drinking regime in order to maintain the kidneys, can somewhat improve the prognosis for myeloma.

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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!