title: Targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in the treatment of multiple myeloma.
abstract: Multiple myeloma is a clonal plasma cell malignancy within the bone marrow associated with bone loss, renal disease and immunodeficiency. Despite new insights into the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma and novel targeted therapies, the median survival remains 3-5 years. It is now well established that the intimate relation between the tumor cells and components of the microenvironment plays a key role in multiple myeloma pathogenesis. Specifically, tumor cells impact the bone marrow and thereby cause immune suppression and lytic bone lesions; conversely, components of the bone marrow provide signals that influence the behavior of multiple myeloma cells, including tumor cell growth, survival, migration and drug resistance. Important contributing effectors are tumor cell-stroma cell and cell-extracellular matrix contacts, the bone marrow vasculature, and a variety of cytokines and growth factors in the bone marrow milieu.
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Medical Oncology, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA. klaus_podar@dfci.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Podar
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Dharminder
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A