Treatment of Stage II Multiple Myeloma

Stage II multiple myeloma is a form of plasma cancer that currently has no cure. However, there are several treatments available that can help put the multiple myeloma into remission and extend the quality of life for the patient.

Identification

• Multiple myeloma is a cancer that affects the plasma cells found in the bone marrow. Plasma cells use protein to generate disease-fighting antibodies, but cancerous plasma cells begin to produce a protein called the M-protein that causes damage to the bone marrow and to the red blood cells as well. The body's ability to fight disease is lowered because of a low count of white blood cells, which carry antibodies, and the bones become weak due to the increase in cancerous plasma cells. Both red blood cells and white blood cells are affected because healthy plasma produces red and white blood cells, and cancerous plasma does not. Stage II multiple myeloma occurs when the cancerous cells have begun to spread to other parts of the body, but they have not spread very far at this point.

Considerations

• There are several factors that influence what kind of treatment a patient with stage II multiple myeloma will get. These factors include; the patient's current physical condition, their history of treatments that may have included previous treatments for multiple myeloma, the age of the patient, and whether or not there are other complications being caused by the effects of multiple myeloma. The doctor will take all of these factors into account, and then work with the patient to develop a course of treatment.

Stem Cell Treatment

• One of the treatments used to combat stage II multiple myeloma is the use of radiation chemotherapy and the transplanting of healthy stem cells to replace those that have been destroyed by treatment. Chemotherapy is designed to kill the cancerous cells, and the destruction of a mass amount of plasma cells can leave the immune system and bones weak. Prior to treatment, the doctor will remove healthy cells from the plasma, and when chemotherapy is over the doctor will introduce the healthy cells back into the patient's system to begin the creation of healthy plasma. This process of using healthy stem cells to spur plasma creation has been found to be more effective on stage II multiple myeloma patients than just standard chemotherapy without the use of stem cells.

Chemotherapy

• Standard chemotherapy for stage II multiple myeloma is also referred to as induction therapy because the goal is to induce the disappearance of the cancerous plasma cells. Standard chemotherapy includes radiation and the use of a wide array of drugs. Some of the standard chemotherapy drugs include; Oncovin, Cytoxan, and Prednisone.
  According to the Shands Cancer Center at the University of Florida, the most commonly used chemotherapy drug for stage II multiple myeloma is Thalomid. A Thalomid-based regimen is used on nearly three-fourths of the patients treated for stage II multiple myeloma, and it has a success rate of over 60% for putting the myeloma into remission and creating the longest period of remission over other treatments.

Ongoing Prevention

• One of the ways that doctors help to reduce the chances of multiple myeloma from re-occurring is to treat the many holes in the bones that the condition can leave behind. A type of drug known as bisphosphonate drugs can help to heal the holes in the bones and reduce the possibility of multiple myeloma returning.