Pathophysiology of human multiple myeloma--recent advances and future directions.

Abstract

Fundamental research in human myeloma (MM) has addressed the tumor cell hierarchy, [1] growth regulation by normal host cells [2] and a plethora of cytokines, [3] specific disease manifestations resulting directly from tumor growth or indirectly by way of tumor or normal cell secretory products, [4] and the area of genetic abnormalities [5] with the consequences of oncogene activation and tumor suppressor gene inactivation [6] (see Fig. 1).