Symptoms And Causes of Multiple Myeloma
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The role of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cells, in the human body is essential. This is because it helps in the creation of antibodies that fight foreign substances or entities. For this reason, the proper development and functioning of plasma cells is important for fighting dangerous infections. For patients who have multiple myeloma, the plasma cells presence in the bone marrow is accounted to be abnormally high. As these malignant cells tend to crowd out the preexisting cells, the bone marrow is unable to produce healthy ones. Seen as a rare cancer of the blood, multiple myeloma does not have a cure as of now.
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Symptoms The most unique quality of multiple myeloma is that it exhibits varying signs and symptoms in different patients. At times, there are less or no indicators of this condition in the early stages. Hence, detection and diagnosis are often delayed resulting to end-stage cancer and even fatality. Generally speaking, this blood cancer can be detected with signs such as constant bone pain that is particularly present in the spine or chest area, hypercalcemia, nausea, vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue. Patients might also face neurological issues such as mental fogginess, confusion, and mood swings. Other signs of multiple myeloma are bone fractures and recurrent contraction of infections in the patient's system.
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Causes Multiple myeloma, also known as Kahler's disease, does not have a known cause till now. According to research, scientists have come up with possible risk factors that lead to malignancy of the plasma cells. Family history of this condition can be the biggest risk factors for patients who develop tumorous cells in their bone marrow. Besides this, genetic mutations that turn off tumour suppressor genes or turn on oncogenes (cell growth promoters) are known to cause multiple myeloma as well. Moreover, it has been observed that patients develop this condition if the dendritic cells in the bone marrow produce excessive amount of Interleukin-6 (plasma cells promoter) causing formation of tumours.
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Along with this, people who are above 45 years of age are at a higher risk of malignancy of the plasma cells. In most cases, patients who are 60 years of age or older tend to have multiple myeloma. It is advisable for people in this age bracket to get blood tests done after every three months from a reputed pathology lab. Race plays a big role in this condition as people who are African are more vulnerable than Caucasians to have tumour cells in their bone marrow. Men are known to have multiple myeloma more than women but the reason behind this is still unknown. For patients who have pre-existing blood diseases, the risk of developing condition increases significantly. In recent times, studies have shown that those who are obese since their childhood might also develop this bone marrow cancer. People who work in certain industries where the exposure to toxic chemicals is higher might also succumb to multiple myeloma.
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Therefore, patients who have the aforementioned symptoms or fall in any of the risk categories must ensure that they get regular health check-ups done. PCV test, bone marrow biopsies, and CT scans can help in early detection by an experienced oncologist. As there is no treatment for complete removal of this cancer, medications, radiation, and chemotherapy can help the patient in controlling the excessive amount of myeloma cells.