Multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells that builds up in bone marrow. It can damage bones and kidneys, impair blood-cell production, and weaken immunity.

Plasma cell: A mature B cell that produces antibodies. Multiple myeloma arises when plasma cells become malignant and accumulate in marrow.
Bone marrow: The soft tissue inside bones where blood cells are produced. Myeloma develops in marrow and can suppress normal blood-cell formation.
Serum protein electrophoresis: A laboratory method that separates blood proteins by their electrical mobility. It can detect and quantify the monoclonal protein produced by myeloma.
Smoldering multiple myeloma: A plasma-cell disorder with greater marrow involvement or monoclonal protein than MGUS, but no myeloma-defining events. It has more abnormal plasma cells than MGUS but lacks active myeloma damage.
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance: A precancerous condition marked by an abnormal monoclonal protein without myeloma-defining organ damage. It can precede multiple myeloma, though most cases do not progress.
Immunoglobulin: A protein made by B cells and plasma cells that recognizes specific antigens. The abnormal protein secreted by myeloma is usually an immunoglobulin or its fragment.
Bone marrow biopsy: A procedure that samples marrow tissue for microscopic and laboratory examination. It measures abnormal plasma cells and helps establish the diagnosis.
Solitary plasmacytoma: A localized tumor of clonal plasma cells in bone or soft tissue without systemic myeloma. Unlike multiple myeloma, it is confined to a single lesion at diagnosis.
M protein: An abnormal monoclonal immunoglobulin or immunoglobulin fragment produced by a clone of plasma cells. Its presence in blood or urine can reveal the malignant plasma-cell clone.
B-cell maturation: The process by which B lymphocytes develop into antibody-producing plasma cells or memory cells. It identifies the normal cell lineage from which myeloma arises.

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