Article
Article
Myeloma
Article By:
Wang, Chen Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tian, Shen Department of Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.442150
Show previous versions
- Myeloma, published October 2015:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
A type of blood cancer that derives from plasma cells. Myeloma is often referred to as multiple myeloma (Fig. 1) because malignant plasma cells commonly affect multiple areas of the bone marrow. Historically, myeloma was called Kahler's disease, named after the Austrian physician, Otto Kahler (1849–1893), who described its clinical features. Normal plasma cells are terminally differentiated B cells (B lymphocytes) that produce immunoglobulins that are known as antibodies. In myeloma, malignant plasma cells expand in the bone marrow and typically produce monoclonal immunoglobulin, also known as paraprotein or M protein. The presence of M protein is referred to as monoclonal gammopathy. Based on the extent of plasma cell expansion in the bone marrow, the amount of M protein in the blood and urine, and the level of myeloma-related organ damage, plasma cell neoplasms are diagnosed as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), asymptomatic (smoldering) myeloma, plasmacytoma, or myeloma. See also: Antibody; Blood; Bone disorders; Cancer; Cellular immunology; Clinical immunology; Immunoglobulin; Immunology; Monoclonal antibodies; Oncology
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 8,000 highly qualified scientists and 38 Nobel Prize winners.
Features
MORE THAN 9,000 articles and Research Reviews covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
NEARLY 3,000 biographies of well-known scientific figures
MORE THAN 16,000 downloadable images and embeddable animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional reading to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students to expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
