Diseases

Multiple Myeloma

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Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. Plasma cells help you fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs.

SYMPTOMS

Signs and symptoms of multiple myeloma can vary and, early in the disease, there may be none.
When signs and symptoms do occur, they can include:

bone pain, especially in your spine or chest
nausea
constipation
loss of appetite
mental fogginess or confusion
fatigue
frequent infections
weight loss
weakness or numbness in your legs
excessive thirst

CAUSES

It's not clear what causes myeloma.
Doctors know that myeloma begins with one abnormal plasma cell in your bone marrow — the soft, blood-producing tissue that fills in the center of most of your bones. The abnormal cell multiplies rapidly.
Because cancer cells don't mature and then die as normal cells do, they accumulate, eventually overwhelming the production of healthy cells. In the bone marrow, myeloma cells crowd out healthy white blood cells and red blood cells, leading to fatigue and an inability to fight infections.
The myeloma cells continue trying to produce antibodies, as healthy plasma cells do, but the myeloma cells produce abnormal antibodies that the body can't use. Instead, the abnormal antibodies (monoclonal proteins, or m proteins) build up in the body and cause problems such as damage to the kidneys. Cancer cells can also cause damage to the bones that increases the risk of broken bones.