“ The bone-marrow niche in MDS and MGUS: implications for AML and MM. ”

Remember the post I wrote back in December 2014 about myeloma subpopulations and the bone marrow microenvironment? Probably not…so here’s the link: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/good-or-bad-for-myeloma/first-do-no-harm-myeloma-subpopulations/ The main point is that not much is known about the interactions between the myeloma subpopulations living in our bone marrow, how they compete for survival and so on… Therefore, the only conclusion, in my opinion, is that going in with conventional bombs and blasting the heck out of this microenvironment doesn’t seem to be the best strategy for those of us with MGUS and SMM…certainly not until we know a LOT more about what goes on inside this complex and, I would add, delicate setting. Luckily, there have been more studies on this topic since my 2014 post, including this recent Dana Farber one, titled “The bone-marrow niche in MDS and MGUS: implications for AML and MM.” A blog reader sent me the link (thanks!): goo.gl/Ew3K4A The full study isn’t available for free online, but I was able to read it thanks to a good friend. Okay, let’s have a look at it… We know that MM is preceded by MGUS and by an intermediate stage called SMM. Progression, that is, the “clonal evolution” of myeloma, takes place between MGUS and MM. But, the researchers add, some of the characteristics of myeloma can be found, “at lower frequencies,” at the MGUS and SMM stages. For example, the gene deletions. Therefore, the...
Source: Margaret's Corner - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Blogroll The bone-marrow niche in MDS and MGUS: implications for AML and MM. Dana Farber myeloma SMM Source Type: blogs