R&D

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, which are the antibody-producing cells of the immune system. The disease arises in the bone marrow from the proliferation of a malignant cell clone.

Despite improvements in the standard of care, the vast majority of multiple myeloma patients relapse after initial therapy and ultimately die from the disease. The most recent estimates of the American Cancer Society project that around 20,500 new cases and 10,600 deaths due to multiple myeloma would occur in the United States in 2011.