Is there a connection between osteoporosis and multiple myeloma?
Is there a connection between osteoporosis and multiple myeloma?
Osteoporosis is common among patients with multiple myeloma (MM), in part because both largely affect older adults. And more than half of MM patients will have MM skeletal-related events, which are painful, and can lead to complications (such as spinal cord compression) and death.
Does multiple myeloma cause osteopenia?
The manifestations of bone involvement in patients with multiple myeloma include osteopenia, osteolytic lesions and fractures, which can have devastating clinical effects by increasing the morbidity of multiple myeloma patients.
How does cancer cause osteoporosis?
Cancer is a major risk factor for bone loss and fractures. This is due both to direct effects of cancer cells on the skeleton and to deleterious effects of cancer-specific therapies on bone cells.
What bones are affected by multiple myeloma?
Multiple myeloma destroys the bones—and blocks bone healing. Bone destruction in multiple myeloma can involve any bone, but those most likely to be involved include the spine, skull, pelvis, ribs, humeri, femora, and mandible.
Do bones heal after multiple myeloma?
Current treatment options for multiple myeloma cannot repair or rebuild bone damaged by the disease. This means even when tumour growth is being effectively managed through treatment, patients still experience the devastating impact of bone destruction including fractures and significant pain.
How does hypogonadism cause osteoporosis?
The incidence of osteoporosis in men is indirectly correlated to the reduction in circulating testosterone. Because androgens may promote the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts, as well as inhibit osteoclast activity (recruitment and signaling), decreased bone density may ensue.
Does osteoporosis cause bone lesions?
Myeloma bone disease can cause the bones to become thinner and weaker (osteoporosis), and it can make holes appear in the bone (lytic lesions). The weakened bone is more likely to break under minor pressure or injury (pathologic fracture).
What is the main cause of osteoporosis?
Dietary factors Osteoporosis is more likely to occur in people who have: Low calcium intake. A lifelong lack of calcium plays a role in the development of osteoporosis. Low calcium intake contributes to diminished bone density, early bone loss and an increased risk of fractures.
Does blood cancer cause osteoporosis?
In this study, leukemia caused low-level and widespread bone thinning and bone loss, similar to osteoporosis, particularly in the long bones.
What does myeloma do to bones?
Myeloma cells can form tumors within the bone marrow and spread from the marrow to damage the bone tissue. Myeloma cells can cause bone marrow cells to remove calcium from the bone, which causes soft spots called osteolytic lesions.
Does multiple myeloma cause bone pain?
Bone pain. Multiple myeloma can cause pain in affected bones – usually the back, ribs or hips. The pain is frequently a persistent dull ache, which may be made worse by movement.
Is myeloma hereditary?
This condition is generally not inherited but arises from somatic mutations in plasma cells. An increased risk of developing multiple myeloma seems to run in some families, but the inheritance pattern is unknown.
How deadly is multiple myeloma?
Multiple myeloma used to be considered extremely deadly; today many people live with it as little more than a chronic condition. One reason it remains deadly is because many patients can’t get optimal therapy as a consequence of having existing illnesses when diagnosed with cancer.
How do we diagnose multiple myeloma?
To diagnose multiple myeloma, doctors may look at X-rays to show bone erosion, holes, or skeletal thinning, along with a biopsy to detect cancerous plasma cells in bone marrow.
What is the primary cause of multiple myeloma?
The exact cause of multiple myeloma is unknown . However, what researchers do know about multiple myeloma is the fact that the condition starts with the abnormal growth of a plasma cell in the bone marrow. Next, the abnormal cell begins to multiply rapidly. 1
How painful is multiple myeloma?
Weakened bones can be very painful. About 85 percent of people with multiple myeloma will have some type of bone damage or loss, leading to pain. Bones can weaken to the point of fracturing or breaking. About 40 percent of people with multiple myeloma develop fractures. The pain from a broken bone can be severe.
