'Smoldering myeloma': Breakthrough research could buy time for those at risk of dangerous cancer

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer. An estimated 4,000 Canadians are diagnosed each year, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, with an average survival of eight years after diagnosis.

It’s a potential medical breakthrough: New research is providing hope for early risk-detection of a cancer with no present cure.

“Smoldering multiple myeloma” (SMM) is a blood and bone marrow disorder which can lead to multiple myeloma, a deadly cancer. Detecting the condition can be a challenge, because those living with SMM show no symptoms until the disease progresses.

“It’s been a clinical challenge for years, for decades, actually,” said Dr. Sabine Mai, University of Manitoba Canada Research Chair in genomic instability and nuclear architecture in cancer.

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer. An estimated 4,000 Canadians are diagnosed each year, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, with an average survival of eight years after diagnosis.

But Mai and her team have found a method to predict the risk of patients developing multiple myeloma. She published her co-authored findings in the American Journal of Hematology.

Mai uses three-dimensional imaging to visualize genetic material inside a cell and determine whether there are any changes. The technology can indicate whether the cell is stable or cancerous well before symptoms show, according to the study.

“When you are able to risk-certify before the myeloma is a full-blown disease,” she said, “[you can] treat the patients at that stage. You can buy overall survivor time.”