What are the precursor conditions of multiple myeloma?

What are the precursor conditions of multiple myeloma?

Precursor conditions means that it's a before pre, and a precursor before what you get. And usually that happens for any cancer, there could be a pre-cancerous condition or before you have the symptoms.

So for multiple myeloma, MGUS and smoldering myeloma are considered pre-cancer or precursor to overt myeloma. However, it's a misnomer because smoldering myeloma has so many changes that in a way a high risk smoldering has all the features of real myeloma.

And we have to start thinking, is that really in the precursor area or is MGUS alone in the precursor area? I think this is a time for us to reclassify and an opportunity to look again at all of those precursor conditions and see who is at risk of developing myeloma in a very short period of time.

And when should we intervene in those patients?

So what is MGUS and smoldering multiple myeloma? So these are precursor conditions to multiple myeloma. These are patients with these precursor conditions asymptomatic and have a higher than average lifetime risk of progressing to overt multiple myeloma.

And they're characterized based on a continuum. Everyone with multiple myeloma has had one of these precursor conditions at some point, MGUS and smoldering myeloma patients are welcome to join HealthTree as we will be doing studies for these precursor condition patients.

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