Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that is caused by plasma cells, which are part of the immune system. When plasma cells are healthy, they produce special proteins called antibodies that fight infection in your body. When plasma cells become cancerous, they begin reproducing nonstop, and instead of producing different kinds of antibodies, the defective cells produce only one type of useless antibody.
Most of the time, a diagnosis of multiple myeloma is preceded by two other conditions. In this video, Jens Hillengass, MD, PhD, Chief of Myeloma at Roswell Park, describes those conditions — Monocolonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma. He answers a common question: What are the chances that MGUS and smoldering multiple myeloma will turn into multiple myeloma?
What is Multiple Myeloma?
Find out more about this disease and the effects it can have on your body.
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