- 75% of patients with multiple myeloma have anemia when they are diagnosed.
- According to the WHO, after leukemia it is the most recurrent type of blood cancer globally.
- Due to frequent relapses, it is considered an incurable disease, but with correct treatment and follow-up it is possible to reduce the effects on the patient’s quality of life.
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that occurs mainly in people over 60 years of age. It starts when plasma cells multiply uncontrollably in the bone marrow, but what effects does it have in the body?
A very important aspect is that the bones of the human body not only provide structural support or protection to internal organs such as the brain or the heart, but are also responsible for another fundamental function: the production of blood cells.
Inside the bone is a soft, spongy tissue known as the bone marrow, where platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells are made. This group includes plasma cells, a type of white blood cell responsible for producing antibodies and defending the body from infections.
With this in mind, there are some Basic things you should know about multiple myeloma. It is by no means a minor disease because it represents the second most frequent hematological cancer in Mexico and the world.
1. Persistent tiredness
Feeling tired after an exercise routine or additional physical effort is completely normal, but this lack of energy usually disappears after a long nap or eating food.
In the case of this type of cancer, the feeling of tiredness persists for days. This is attributed to the fact that cancer cells grow uncontrollably and faster, displacing normal blood cells, causing a shortage of red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting oxygen to different organs and tissues, which is necessary to produce energy.
It has been observed that 75% of patients with this neoplasia have anemia when they are diagnosed, although at some point in the disease, all patients will present it.
2. Tendency to spontaneous fractures
We are used to talking about fractures as a result of blows or accidents; however, in patients with multiple myeloma tumor cells secrete substances that affect bone density, making them more fragile and porous.
Under these conditions, hugging a person, sneezing, coughing, or picking up an object from the ground could trigger a fracture. Fractures usually occur mainly in the hips, pelvis, sternum, and in the long bones of the arms and legs.
3. Decreased immune response
Patients are more likely to develop bacterial, viral or fungal infections, compared to healthy people. This is because cancer suppresses the immune system. As cancer cells multiply, they prevent the bone marrow from working properly, decreasing the production of efficient antibodies.
Infections are the leading cause of death from multiple myeloma. In fact, people with this type of cancer are 7 to 15 times more likely to get an infection than people hospitalized for other reasons.
4. A disease that comes and goes
There are types of cancer that, after successful treatment, the symptoms disappear and the disease is controlled or the patient is put into remission. In the particular case of this tumor, the natural course of the disease entails periods of remission, followed by episodes of relapse.
5. Resistance to treatment
On occasions, a patient with this neoplasm ceases to have a response to the usual treatment or does not respond favorably to it, aspects that put the patient’s survival at risk. If the first option of therapy does not work, then the patient is said to have refractory multiple myeloma.
Also read:
Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the cancer that hides in the blood
Blood test would detect 10 types of cancer from its early stages
Multiple myeloma, symptoms and importance of timely diagnosis