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Signaling Pathways and Emerging Therapies in Multiple Myeloma

  • Multiple Myeloma (P Kapoor, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a devastating malignancy of antibody-producing plasma cells. In the absence of a single unifying genetic event contributing to disease manifestation, efforts have focused on understanding signaling events deregulated in myeloma plasma cells. MM cells are dependent on both cellular and non-cellular components of the tumor microenvironment such as bone marrow stromal cells, endothelial cells, and cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL6), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) for their growth and survival. The cumulative effect of such interactions is the aberrant activation of numerous signal transduction pathways within the MM plasma cells leading to uncontrolled growth and prevention of apoptosis. Here, we will review our current understanding of some of the key signal transduction pathways dysregulated in MM and emerging therapies targeting these pathways in MM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, 200, First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Vijay Ramakrishnan

  2. Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA

    Anita D’Souza

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  1. Vijay Ramakrishnan
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  2. Anita D’Souza
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Correspondence to Vijay Ramakrishnan or Anita D’Souza.

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Vijay Ramakrishnan and Anita D’Souza each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Multiple Myeloma

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Ramakrishnan, V., D’Souza, A. Signaling Pathways and Emerging Therapies in Multiple Myeloma. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 11, 156–164 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-016-0315-4

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