Smoldering myeloma is a slow-growing blood cancer that affects plasma cells and is often diagnosed through routine blood tests. It can progress to multiple myeloma, causing bone damage and immune deficiency. Treatment options vary, and while there is no cure, some treatments can put the disease into remission. The disease is rare and occurs more commonly in men and certain ethnicities. Diagnosis can be difficult due to the lack of symptoms, and all cases eventually progress to multiple myeloma. Proper treatment can slow down the disease and increase life span.
Smoking myeloma is a slow-growing blood cancer that can affect plasma cells, which are white blood cells that produce antibodies. People who have been diagnosed with this type of myeloma usually have very few or no symptoms and are typically monitored closely for signs that the cancer is growing. If the disease progresses, it’s called multiple myeloma or a variant of that term, and the word “smoldering” is dropped because the disease is no longer being suppressed. A routine blood test is often the first step in diagnosing smoldering myeloma. Other names for this disease are Kahler’s disease and plasma cell myeloma.
As the disease progresses, it can disrupt the normal production of blood cells, cause bone damage and lead to an immune deficiency. People who develop multiple myeloma and seek modern treatment typically live three to seven years. There is no cure for smoldering or multiple myeloma, but some treatments can sometimes put the disease into remission and help keep it that way. The disease is quite rare and occurs more commonly in men than in women. Some ethnicities are also more prone to developing smoking myeloma.
Diagnosing this disease can be difficult due to its lack of symptoms and rarity. Often, the disease is suspected and actively sought after an unrelated blood or urine test shows an abnormality. With blood and urine tests, a doctor can look for elevated levels of certain cells and proteins, which is the main indicator of disease.
Treatments for this condition vary depending on the patient. Sometimes, a doctor may feel that it is best not to treat the disease, even though it usually helps the patient deal with pain or other uncommon signs of this health problem. Radiation therapy, drugs to prevent bone loss, or stem cell transplantation combined with chemotherapy are some of the treatments used for this type of cancer.
All cases of this type of myeloma are thought to eventually progress to the active disease, multiple myeloma. This development can take from months to more than half a decade, depending on the severity of the disease. Researchers have developed a way to narrow down how long it will take for a case of smoking myeloma to progress, but an exact date cannot be provided. Proper treatment can usually slow down the disease, whether it is inactive or active, sometimes significantly increasing the life span of the affected person.
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