The 14;16 and 14;20 myeloma translocations are rare - in about 6% of all patients. These patients can respond to therapy just like normal risk patients, but the duration of their remission can be much shorter. Dr. Frank Zhan, MD, PhD describes his research to search a genetic database to find 100 genes that may be affected in the 14;16 and 14;120 myeloma translocations. That work led to search a compound database to find 5 possible drug targets that would impact the genes that are changed by these translocations (c-MAF for 14;16 and MAFB for 14;20). After testing these in the lab,  one compound stood out that could stop the growth of cancer cells for c-MAF and MAFB - Allsterpaullone. In addition, Drs. Zhan and Tricot found that expression of Notch2 is strongly regulated in this MAF subgroup. Notch2 is an important gene related to cancer stem cells, drug resistance and the bone marrow microenvironment. The proposed research would be to use Allsterpaullone and a new Notch2 antibody now in clinical trials to provide the same length of remission (and beyond!) for this high-risk patient group.     The Myeloma Crowd Radio Show with Dr. Frank Zhan, MD, PhD and Dr. Guido Tricot, MD, PhD