The Multiple Myeloma Bone Marrow Microenvironment

Author(s): Aldo M. Roccaro, Angelo Vacca, Giuseppe Rossi and Irene Ghobrial

Pp: 128-137 (10)

* (Excluding Mailing and Handling)

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy that characteristically involves extensive infiltration of bone marrow (BM), with the formation of plasmacytomas, as clusters of malignant plasma cells inside or outside the BM milieu. Despite limits to our understanding of the molecular events of neoplastic transformation in MM, substantial advances have been made in understanding the biology of the disease through the study of the BM microenvironment, which appears to be fundamental for the proliferation, survival, and resistance of myeloma; providing the preclinical evidences for targeting MM cells and BMSCs as an anti-tumor strategy in this disease.

Keywords: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), cell adhesion mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR), extracellular matrix (ECM), adhesion molecules, interleukin-6, insulin-like-growth-factor 1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), bone marrow niches, B-cell activating factor (BAFF), a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1), hypoxia, BM endothelial cells (BMECs), angiogenesis.