Does myeloma run in the family?

Ever since I began doing research on myeloma, one of my certainties–although with something like myeloma you can never be absolutely certain!!!–has been that myeloma is NOT a hereditary disease. Yes, of course, I’ve read about a few patients who had relatives with myeloma, but…only a few. If you do an online search, you will find that not much is known about the causes of myeloma. A few known ones are things such as pesticide exposure, past exposure to radiation, genetic changes that turn our plasma cells into MM cells…stuff like that. The family connection seems to be a minor one… Today, however, I read a Science Daily article that suggested otherwise. As you can see for yourself (goo.gl/jPgDtS), the article begins like this: “Researchers have identified two gene regions that contribute to multiple myeloma, an inherited cancer…” SAY WHAAAAAT??? MYELOMA…AN INHERITED CANCER? The Science Daily article picked this up from a newly published gene mapping study that I won’t even try to read today (my brain is still reeling from that “inherited” business). If you’re interested and find technical jargon as fascinating as my kittens find me doing practically anything , go right ahead and have a look: goo.gl/bTgGmW Still stunned, I immediately began digging and found a few relatively new studies on the apparent inheritance factor. A 2013 “Leukemia” study uses the expressions “familia...
Source: Margaret's Corner - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Blogroll inherited cancer myeloma Source Type: blogs