Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
Click the orange button to the right to learn more about what you can start doing today.
- You are here:
- Home »
- Blog »
- Multiple Myeloma »
- Myeloma Acronyms
Myeloma Acronyms
I’ve pasted a list of the most common myeloma acronyms below. I’m sorry if I’ve used any of the MM apprevalations in online group posting or in any of my blog posts that you find confusing. In my defense, I write about MM daily, and it’s much easier to write MM instead of spelling out multiple myeloma again and again.
While listening to the video linked below, I remembered learning about diagnostic terms like “M-spike.” The term m-spike is both an acronym as well as slang for monoclonal protein. MM patients often ask each other about their m-spike. What was your m-spike when you were diagnosed? What is your m-spike now?
I use the word “chemo” or “chemotherapy” because of the general meaning of the word. The National Cancer Institute defines chemotherapy as any medication meant to kill cancer cells.
Many MM survivors differentiate between chemotherapy regimens like melphalan (toxic stuff) versus Revlimid (immunomodulatory drug or IMID).
How to Approach the “Alphabet Soup” of Myeloma Treatment
I am both a long-term MM survivor and MM cancer coach. Please don’t hesitate to ask me to explain an acronym or a term that is spelled out if you don’t understand it. MM is complicated. The more you understand the more in control you’ll feel.
Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com with any questions you have about MM.
Thanks,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Acronyms frequently used in multiple myeloma
Sometimes, you will hear or read unfamiliar medical terms that make it harder to understand multiple myeloma. If your care team is using words you don’t understand, it is ok to tell them that you don’t understand the words they are using and ask them to explain it in a different way.
| ACT | Adaptive Cell Transfer |
| ADC | Antibody drug conjugate |
| Allo | Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant |
| ASCO | American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| ASCT | Autologous Stem Cell Transplant |
| ASH | American Society of Hematology |
| Auto | Autologous Stem Cell Transplant |
| BCMA | B-cell maturation antigen |
| BiTE | Bispecific T-cell Engager |
| BMA | Bone Marrow Aspirate or Bone Modifying Agent |
| BMB | Bone Marrow Biopsy |
| BMT | Bone Marrow Transplant |
| BORT | Bortezomib |
| BP | Bisphosphonate |
| CAR | Chimeric antigen receptors |
| CAR-T | A form of immunotherapy that uses specially altered T-cells |
| CBC | Complete Blood Count |
| CBD | Cannbidiol one of 113 cannbinoids in cannabis |
| CD | In cells, refers to Cluster of Differentation |
| CD138 | A protein expressed on plasma cells especially MM cells used as a marker |
| CD34 | A protein marker of hematopoietic stem cells |
| CD38 | A protein marker of cell activation on myeloma cells |
| CR | Complete Response |
| Cr | Creatinine |
| CRAB | CRAB Calcium Renal Anemia Bone Disease |
| CRP C | C-Reactive Protein |
| CRS | Cytokine Release Syndrome |
| CT | Computerized Tomography Scan (3D X-ray) |
| Cy | Cyclophosphamide |
| CyBorD | Cyclophosphamide, Velcade (Bortezomib), Dexamethasone |
| Dara | Daratumumab (Darzalex) |
| DCEP | Dexamethasone, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide and Cisplatin |
| DEX | Dexamethasone |
| DKd | Daratumumab, carfilzomib, dexamethasone |
| DLC | Digital Life Coaching |
| DLT | Dose-limiting toxicity |
| DPACE | Dexamethasone, Cisplatin, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide |
| DOR | Duration of Response |
| DRd | Daratumumab, Revlimid, low-dose Dexamethasone |
| DVD | Doxil, Vincristine, Dexamethasone |
| DVT | Deep Vein Thrombosis |
| EFS | Event Free Survival |
| EHR | Electronic health record |
| EMD | Extramedullary Disease (myeloma outside the bone marrow) marrow) |
| EOB | Explanation of benefits |
| ERD | Elotuzumab (Empliciti), Revlimid, Dexamethasone |
| FDA | Federal Drug Administration |
| FISH | Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization |
| FLC | Free Light Chain |
| GEP | Gene Expression Profile |
| GPRC5D | G Protein–Coupled Receptor, Class C, Group 5, Member D |
| GSI | Gamma Secretase Inhibitor |
| GVHD | Graft Versus Host Disease |
| HDAC | Histone Deacetylase |
| HDT | High-Dose Therapy |
| HIPAA | Health Insurance Poratability and Accountability Act |
| HRQoL | Health Related Quality of Life |
| HRSMM | High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma |
| HSC | Hematopoietic Stem Cells |
| HTU | HealthTree University |
| I | Ixazomib (Ninlaro) |
| IEP | Immunoelectrophoresis |
| IFE | Immunofixation Electrophoresis |
| Ig | Immunoglobulin |
| IM | Intramuscular (shot or injection into the muscle) |
| IMF | International Myeloma Foundation |
| IMiD | Oral Immunomodulatory Agent |
| IRD | Ixazomib (Ninlaro), Revlimid, Dexamethasone |
| ISS | International Staging System |
| IV | Intravenous (injection into the vein) |
| IVIG | Intravenous Immunoglobulin |
| K | Kyprolis (Carfilzomib) |
| Kd | Carfilzomib, dexamethasone |
| KRD | Kyprolis (Carfilzomib), Revlimid, Dexamethasone |
| Len | Lenadidomide |
| LoD | Limit of Detection (MRD testing) |
| LOT | Lines of Therapy |
| LLS | Leukemia & Lymphoma Society |
| MAB | Monoclonal Antibodies |
| M-protein or spike | Monoclonal Protein |
| MDE | Myeloma Defining Event |
| MEL 200 | Dose of melphalan administered in ASCT: 200 mg of melphalan per square meter of body mass |
| MGUS | Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance |
| MMRF | Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation |
| MP | Melphalan & Prednisone |
| MPR | Melphalan, Prednisone, Revlimid |
| MPT | Melphalan, Prednisone, Thalidomide |
| MR | Minimal Response (between 25% and 50% response) |
| MRD | Minimal Residual Disease |
| MRD Neg | Absence of tumor plasma cell within 1,000,000 bone marrow cells |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| MTD | Maximum Tolerated Dose |
| NA or N/A | Not Available |
| nCR | Near-Complete Response |
| NDMM | Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma |
| NGF | Next-Generation Flow (new 8-color flow cytometry test) |
| NGS | Next-Generation Sequencing (new DNA-sequencing test) |
| NK | Natural Killer (cell) |
| NR | Not Reached |
| ONJ | Osteonecrosis of the Jaw |
| ORR | Overall Response Rate |
| OS | Overall survival |
| PBSCT | Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant |
| PCLI | Plasma Cell Labeling Index |
| PDC | Peptide-drug conjugate |
| PET | Positron Emission Tomography |
| PET/CT | PET combined with a CT scan |
| PFS | Progression-Free Survival |
| PI | Protenase Inhibitor |
| PN | Peripheral Neuropathy |
| POM | Pomalidomide (Pomalyst®) |
| PR | Partial Response |
| PSCT | Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant |
| QoL | Quality of Life |
| RBC | Red Blood Cells |
| REVLoDEX | Revlimid, low-dose Dexamethasone |
| RMPT | Revlimid, Melphalan, Prednisone, Thalidomide |
| RRMM | Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma |
| RVd | Revlimid, Velcade, low-dose Dexamethasone |
| RVD | Revlimid, Velcade, Dexamethasone |
| RWD | Real world data |
| sCR | Stringent Complete Response (CR plus normal free light chain ratio and no clonal plasma cells) |
| SCT | Stem Cell Transplant |
| SD | Stable Disease |
| SINE | Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (Selinexor) |
| SMM | Smoldering Multiple Myeloma |
| SPEP | Serum Protein Electrophoresis |
| SPM | Second Primary Malignancy |
| SQ | Subcutaneous (sometimes abbreviated SC) |
| SRE | Skeletal Related Event |
| ß2M | Beta-2 Microglobulin |
| TCR | T-cell Receptor |
| TMI | Too Much Information |
| TTP | Time to Progression |
| UHiR | Ultra-High Risk |
| UPEP | Urine Protein Electrophoresis |
| VCF | Vertebral Compression Fracture |
| VDT-PACE | Velcade, Dexamethasone, Thalidomide, Cisplatin, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide |
| VEGF | Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor |
| VGPR | Very Good Partial Response |
| VMP-Dara | Velcade, Melphalan, Prednisone plus Daratumumab (RRMM) |
| VRd | Velcade, Revlimid, Low-Dose Dexamethasone |
| VTD | Velcade, Thalidomide, Dexamethasone |
| VTD-Dara | Velcade, Thalidomide, Dexamethasone, Daratumumab |
| WBC | White Blood Cells |
| WBLD CT | Whole-Body Low-Dose CT |
| WBLD MRI | Whole-Body Low-Dose MRI |
| ZOL | Zoledronic acid (Zometa) |
myeloma acronyms myeloma acronyms myeloma acronyms