Learn how you can stall the development of full-blown Multiple Myeloma with evidence-based nutritional and supplementation therapies.
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Hi Sally-
“An analysis of data from a longitudinal prospective study has identified levels of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) immune markers measured in blood predict an individual’s risk for developing multiple myeloma, a rare cancer arising in the bone marrow. These findings were published July 18, 2019, in JAMA Oncology.
Multiple myeloma is consistently preceded by a largely asymptomatic condition known as MGUS, which is detectable in peripheral blood (Langdren, O. et al., 2009). However, relatively few individuals with MGUS will go on to develop multiple myeloma (between 0.5% – 1.0% per year). While it has been suggested that changes in MGUS immune marker levels correlate with progression to multiple myeloma, current risk estimation models are based on data from a single time point.
This new study, a collaborative effort co-led by Drs. Jonathan Hofmann, Ph.D., M.P.H., (DCEG) and Ola Landgren (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) followed 685 individuals diagnosed with MGUS using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and tracked fluctuations in their marker levels over time.
Using a scoring system based on several characteristics of MGUS, individuals were classified as having a
risk of progression to multiple myeloma. The authors determined low-to-intermediate-risk MGUS can transform into high-risk MGUS and progress to multiple myeloma within five years, and that the risk of progression is not necessarily constant over time. These findings support the need for annual blood testing for MGUS patients, and yearly reassessment of a patient’s clinical risk status. ”
“Discussion-
Here we provide compelling evidence that chronic inflammatory RDs have an impact on the disease biology of MGUS by modulating the risk of transformation, which resulted in a twofold increased probability for the development of MM or related lymphoproliferative malignancies in non-Ab–mediated RDs when compared with the MGUS cohort without RDs.
Our results fit well with recent advancements that emphasize chronic inflammation as a cancer risk factor23,24 and as an additional cancer hallmark.25Furthermore, the relevance of MGUS for estimating disease activity and outcome in rheumatic inflammatory diseases is best reflected by its inclusion in the EULAR Sjögren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) and lymphoma risk stratification models in primary Sjögren syndrome.26…
In conclusion, we found a high prevalence of concomitant chronic inflammatory RDs in MGUS patients.
The risk of progression varied depending on which RDs were diagnosed, and patients with non-Ab–mediated RDs had doubled risk of transformation and a 5-year risk of progression.
Future studies are necessary to further elucidate the impact of proinflammatory processes and immunosuppressive therapies on how MGUS evolves and its risk of progression.”