The reason why so many people are getting multiple myeloma is due to aging populations as the risk of multiple myeloma also increases with age.
Multiple myeloma is also more common in people that are African Americans and men and changes in these populations as well as exposure to health habits may also play a role in multiple myeloma development.
And lifestyle factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity and potential exposures to certain chemicals and or radiation are also linked to a higher risk of multiple myeloma, especially in younger adults.
And new and effective therapies also mean that people liver longer multiple myeloma, which also increases the total number of people that are living with myeloma or multiple myeloma.
And advances in screening as well as diagnostic technology allow doctors to catch cases of multiple myeloma earlier and more often, which also results in higher incident rates of multiple myeloma and also because people are living long now and because multiple myeloma is primarily a cancer of older adults, with the average age of diagnosis of multiple myeloma being age 69, more people are reaching the age in which multiple myeloma is more common.
Multiple myeloma cancer is a cancer of the bone marrow plasma cells, which cause abnormal protein buildup of M protein, which results in bone lesions, kidney damage, anemia and immune system suppression.
Multiple myeloma cancer is considered to be incurable, although multiple myeloma is also highly treatable, especially when caught early.
New therapies for multiple myeloma improve your prognosis significantly and allow you to live active lives.
Common symptoms of multiple myeloma are bone pain, especially in the back or the ribs, fatigue, frequent infections and high calcium levels.
The exact cause of multiple myeloma is not know, although multiple myeloma also involves genetic mutations in the plasma cells, which cause them to grow uncontrollably.
Risk factors for multiple myeloma include being male, being over age 65, being of African American heritage, being obese and having a family history of multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma often develops from a precursor condition that is called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.
Multiple myeloma is often diagnosed through blood and urine tests to check for M protein, along with bone marrow biopsies and imaging tests like MRI, CT and PET scans to assess for bone damage.
The treatment for multiple myeloma often involves a combination of targeted therapies, immunomodulatory agents like lenalidomide, proteasome inhibitors like bortezomib, steroids and also autologous stem cell transplants.