title: Pathogenesis of myeloma bone disease.
abstract: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most common cancer to involve bone with up to 90% of patients developing bone lesions. The bone lesions are purely osteolytic in nature and do not heal in the vast majority of patients. Up to 60% of patients develop pathologic fractures over the course of their disease. Bone disease is a hallmark of MM, and myeloma bone disease differs from bone metastasis caused by other tumors. Although myeloma and other osteolytic metastases induce increased osteoclastic bone destruction, in contrast to other tumors, once myeloma tumor burden exceeds 50% in a local area, osteoblast activity is either severely depressed or absent. The basis for this severe imbalance between increased osteoclastic bone resorption and decreased bone formation has been the topic of intensive investigation over the last several years. These studies have helped to identify novel targets for treating myeloma bone disease and will be discussed in this chapter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Hematology-Oncology, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15240, USA. roodmangd@upmc.edu
authors.forename: G David
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Roodman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002450:Cell Communication; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010012:Osteogenesis; D010014:Osteolysis / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology*