Articles tagged with: Genome
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Alcohol Consumption May Reduce Risk Of Developing Myeloma – Results from a recent retrospective study suggest that alcohol consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of multiple myeloma. The researchers analyzed data from 1,567 myeloma patients and 7,296 healthy individuals from a number of treatment centers across the world that are part of the International Multiple Myeloma Consortium. Their findings show that people who ever drank alcohol had a lower risk of multiple myeloma compared to those who never drank. This association was true for all types of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, and liquor) that the researchers examined. However, the researchers did not find any relationship between the frequency of alcohol consumption or cumulative intake of alcohol and the rate of myeloma. The investigators note that this is the largest investigation so far of the relationship between alcohol consumption and multiple myeloma. However, they caution that their findings need to be confirmed by prospective studies. For more information, please see the study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (abstract).
Deletions In Chromosome 1 Linked To Poor Multiple Myeloma Prognosis – French researchers have linked deletions in specific regions of chromosome 1, called 1p22 (15 percent of myeloma patients) and 1p32 (7 percent), to poor myeloma prognosis. Compared to patients without either deletion, patients with the deletions showed shorter progression-free survival (19.8 months with 1p22 deletion and 14.4 months with 1p32 deletion versus 33.6 months without either deletion) and shorter overall survival (44.2 months with 1p22 deletion and 26.7 months with 1p32 deletion versus 96.8 months without either deletion). Based on the dramatic of impact of the 1p32 deletion on survival, the researchers recommend that all myeloma patients be tested for it at diagnosis. The French investigators used a technique called fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to detect 1p22 and 1p32 deletions in samples from 1,195 myeloma patients under the age of 66 years. About two thirds of the study participants received induction therapy with the older chemotherapy combination regimen of vincristine (Oncovin), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (Decadron), while the other third received induction therapy with a Velcade (bortezomib)-based regimen. After their induction therapy, all patients underwent autologous stem cell transplantation with high-dose melphalan (Alkeran). The negative impact of the chromosome 1 deletions was seen regardless of a patient's induction regimen. For further information, please see the study in Leukemia (abstract).
Researchers Identify Genetic Variations Associated With Increased Risk Of Multiple Myeloma – British and German researchers recently identified four specific chromosomal regions that differ significantly between multiple myeloma patients and healthy individuals. These regions are present on chromosomes 3, 6, 17, and 22, and denoted as 3q26.2, 6p21.33, 17p11.2, and 22q13.1, respectively. The investigators note that the 3q26.2 region is associated with a gene called TERC (telomerase RNA component) that regulates the length of chromosomes and the aging of cells. Genetic variations of this gene allow cancer cells to avoid the aging process and continue to divide. The findings are based on a comparison of the genetic make-up of 4,692 myeloma patients and 10,990 healthy individuals. This British-German research group previously identified three other genetic regions linked to increased risk for myeloma (see related Beacon news). In the future, the group's findings could lead to tests that determine a person's risk of developing myeloma, and to the development of new treatments for the disease. For more information, please see the press release from the Institute of Cancer Research in the United Kingdom and the study in Nature Genetics (abstract).
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Looking back at all that has happened in the world of multiple myeloma since January of 2012, it is hard not to be impressed by the many important developments that took place.
There is the obvious fact that, during that time, not one, but two new drugs to treat myeloma were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to 2012, the FDA had not approved a novel anti-myeloma therapy in over six years.
Yet 2012 was meaningful to the myeloma community for reasons beyond the activity at the FDA’s …
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In a recent study, an international research team reported several new genetic mutations that may be involved in multiple myeloma. Additionally, the researchers identified genetic changes associated with disease progression.
Dr. Niccolo Bolli from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom presented the findings last month at the 17th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA).
In multiple myeloma, as with all cancers, cells develop genetic abnormalities known as “mutations.” These mutations can lead to uncontrolled growth and survival of the cancer cells. In multiple myeloma, mutations typically result in the …
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Many new and promising research developments occurred in the field of multiple myeloma during 2011. Over the course of the year, The Myeloma Beacon published nearly 100 articles on important myeloma-related studies.
To identify the most important of these studies from 2011, The Myeloma Beacon surveyed leading physicians and researchers in the field. They were asked to name the three peer-reviewed journal articles published in 2011 and the three conference presentations from 2011 that have the most important findings or implications relating to multiple myeloma.
Their selections for the most important journal …
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A team of British and German researchers have identified specific areas of the human genome that consistently differ between people with multiple myeloma and people who do not have the disease.
The new findings, summarized in a research article published yesterday, help explain why the risk of developing myeloma seems to be higher in some families than in others.
Moreover, by clearly identifying regions of the human genome linked to an increased risk of myeloma, the European research could lead to better treatments for myeloma and better tools for diagnosing the disease. …
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Friday was the last day of the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris. The agenda for the day was briefer than the previous days of the conference. Talks ran from the early morning through mid-afternoon.
The morning began with a session in which myeloma specialists presented consensus reports on vaccination and infection prevention, the management of anemia, blood clots in deep veins, and bone disease. The Myeloma Beacon will be covering these reports in more detail over the next few weeks.
Throughout the rest of the morning, researchers presented results from ongoing …
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During a recent study, researchers sequenced the genomes of 38 multiple myeloma patients and identified a number of genetic mutations that may contribute to the onset of multiple myeloma. These findings may help researchers develop improved therapies for myeloma.
Scientists from 21 of the leading research institutes in the United States and Canada contributed to this new genome study that will be published on Thursday in the journal Nature.
The study is important because “it gives insight into the biology of a disease, which we are only beginning to understand,” said Dr. …
