What would you do if suddenly, out of the blue, your myeloma just – poof! –disappeared?

I know many people achieve remission after treatment, but what if – after having stable but measurable disease for years – it simply vanished for no reason?

A few months ago, I called the doctor’s office to get my latest test results. The nurse said she couldn’t find the results for my M-spike (monoclonal protein). This has happened before, so I wasn’t worried. I felt fine and all of my other numbers were normal, so I’d …

Results from a recent study suggest that multiple myeloma patients whose monoclonal (M) protein levels continue to decrease after 100 days following stem cell trans­planta­tion may experience improved survival.

Both progression-free survival and overall survival were longer in patients who showed such a continued response without additional therapy after autologous stem cell trans­planta­tion (using their own cells).

“This study confirms the observation that the depth of response continues to improve after trans­plant,” said the study’s lead investigator Dr. Shaji Kumar from the Mayo Clinic. “It is of particular importance to patients who …

Results of a Canadian retrospective analysis indicate that multiple myeloma patients who develop one or more new monoclonal proteins (M-spikes) after stem cell transplantation may have improved progression-free and overall survival compared to those without a new M-spike.

Myeloma cells overproduce a single type of antibody, known as a monoclonal or M-protein. Different types of myeloma are classified according to the type of M-protein the patient’s myeloma cells produce.

When a patient’s original M-spike disappears and an M-spike of a different monoclonal protein appears, this is known as monoclonal banding.  When the …