New Strategies in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
Cet article passe en revue les travaux récents sur le développement de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques dans les myélomes multiples
Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy affecting terminally differentiated plasma cells. Although high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation improved survival in younger patients, the natural history of MM has been changed with the availability of five new agents approved in last 10 years (thalidomide, bortezomib, lenalidomide, liposomal doxorubicin and carfilzomib). Despite this significant improvement in overall outcome, MM remains incurable in majority of patients prompting continued search for additional therapeutic options. Extensive molecular and genomic characterization of MM cells in its bone marrow milieu, which affects myeloma cell growth and survival, has provided number of novel drugable targets and pathways. Perturbation of protein catabolism at multiple levels has become an important target in MM. Similarly with improvements in monoclonal antibody generation and vaccine development along with identification of number of cell surface and cellular targets have led to development of various strategies including antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates which are under investigation both preclinically as well as in early clinical studies. We propose that eventually, molecularly-informed multi-agent combination therapies will be required to eliminate the MM cell clone for a long-term disease control.