Paper Title: MULTIPLE MYELOMA: AN UPDATED REVIEW ON THE PLASMA CELL NEOPLASM

Author's name: Deeksha RV, Dr. M. Bavani Latha

A cancer is one that develops due to uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the body. While some cancers hijack the bodies at such jaw-dropping speeds that it becomes difficult to record its prognosis, such as Lung cancer or Colorectal cancer [1], some develop more slowly and take time for its symptoms to be profound, such as Multiple Myeloma. Originating from the Greek words “Myelo” meaning marrow and “oma” meaning tumor, Multiple Myeloma is an incurable hematological disease, belonging to a family of cancers called plasma cell dyscrasia [2]. Its distribution across the world varies widely with race. Its well-known prognosis involves giving rise to malignant plasma cells originating from the post-germinal centers of B cells in the lymphoid organ, which spread from the bone marrow of one bone to the rest of the bones in the body. It is also characterized by heightened monoclonal antibody production. Malignant plasma cells do not have the ability to correctly produce antibodies. An antibody consists of 2 heavy chains of either IgA,IgM,IgG,IgE or IgD type and 2 light chains of either kappa or lambda type. Mutations in plasma cells lead to incorrect bonding of the heavy and light chains of the antibody, and in some cases, bonding does not even take place; which leads to free light chains entering into the bloodstream [3], the level of which is a significant diagnosis factor for Multiple Myeloma. In addition, abnormal plasma cells also release M proteins, or Myeloma proteins, which have no use for the body, apart from serving as an indication for the presence of Multiple Myeloma. Delayed diagnosis of this cancer is one of the common causes of inability to cure it. However, if the disease is caught during early stages, the patient’s survival rate may be increased with the right treatment.

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