“Our group, which includes more than 180 myeloma researchers worldwide, has updated the definition of multiple myeloma for diagnostic purposes to include validated biomarkers in addition to the current clinical symptoms used for diagnosis which include, elevated blood calcium levels, kidney failure, anemia and bone lesions,” said lead author S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D. a hematologist at Mayo Clinic. …
The findings, which appear in the journal Leukemia, are from the first nationwide study to look at the precursor of multiple myeloma in blacks, whites, and Hispanics and could point the way toward tailored screening and preventive strategies for different racial groups. The study also uncovered different rates of the condition in different parts of the country, suggesting an environmental component to the racial disparities. “We have known for a long time that there is a marked racial disparity in multiple myeloma, but the big question has been why that disparity exists,” says the study’s senior author, Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., a hematologist/oncologist at Mayo Clinic…