Peter Voorhees, MD of the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte NC discusses the emerging treatments for multiple myeloma that are focused on BCMA-targeted therapies. BCMA—short for B Cell maturation Antigen— is a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed in significantly high amounts in multiple myeloma cells. Antibodies that can target BCMA are being developed as a new treatment strategy for those patients.
Multiple myeloma is a rare blood cancer characterized by the expansion of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow associated with excessive production of monoclonal immunoglobulins in blood and urine.
Persons with multiple myeloma develop significant osteolytic bone lesions and have immunodeficiency that compromise their longevity and quality of life.
Over the past few decades, there has been an explosion of research examining the pathophysiology of multiple myeloma and it is becoming clear that multiple myeloma cells are highly dependent on the variety of bone marrow cells that surround them, including BMCA.
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