Cancer is a disease that can’t be treated without proper diagnosis and medical care. Cancer cells cause enormous damage to the body, which is irreversible. Recurrent multiple myeloma is a phenomenon when cancer returns after a period of remission. Multiple myeloma doesn’t have any cure, and it is true that patients will certainly relapse at some point; this is why recurrent myeloma is also known as relapsed multiple myeloma (RMM).
Scope of Treatment for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma doesn’t have any treatment; however, decoding the DNA has enabled doctors to treat patients with relapsed myeloma. Depending upon the condition and the responsiveness of the patient, there are four ways that can be used for the treatment of RMM.
- DNA Alteration: DNA alteration treatment is used when it is considered that the patient is suffering from t (4, 14) disorder, which involves chromosome translocation. It has been clinically proven that patients with this form of RMM respond well when they are treated with a proteasome inhibitor.
- Progression Free Survival: If a patient has had a positive response to the prior treatments of cancer and the relapse has still occurred, it could be beneficial to opt for progression free survival. In this form of relapsed multiple myeloma treatment, it has been clinically demonstrated that patients with an intermediate risk respond positively if properly retreated.
- Switching Drug Class: Patients who have not reacted positively to their prior treatment of cancer may be asked to opt for the drug switching treatment. Almost 20% of high-risk patients have been better off with this treatment and when consulted with expert oncologists, the outcome can be positive.
- Cytogenetic: This is one of the newest forms of therapy for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma. Using this, researchers argue that patients with t (4, 14), del17p or t (14, 16) can be treated better than any other method. However, due to the lack of any evidence, there is no support for this form of treatment.
Treating RMM is certainly a challenge, but if a patient is treated with good care and all the parameters such as age, health, genomic test results are taken into consideration, it can help in curing the relapse.