New insights into therapeutic targets in myeloma

Patient outcome in multiple myeloma (MM) has been remarkably improved due to the use of combination therapies including proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs, which target the tumor in its BM microenvironment. Ongoing efforts to improve the treatment paradigm even further include using oncogenomics to better characterize molecular pathogenesis and to develop refined patient stratification and personalized medicine in MM; using models of MM in its BM milieu to identify novel targets and to validate next-generation therapeutics directed at these targets; developing immune-based therapies including mAbs, immunotoxins targeting MM cells and cytokines, and novel vaccine strategies; and using functional oncogenomics to inform the design of novel combination therapies. With continued rapid evolution of progress in these areas, MM will be a chronic illness with sustained complete response in a significant number of patients.