People with excess body weight
Disease state resources
Multiple myeloma fact sheet
November 28, 2018
Updated: May 27, 2025
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer formed by malignant plasma cells and typically originates in the bone marrow.
What is multiple myeloma?
Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. Through a complex, multi-step process, healthy plasma cells can transform into malignant myeloma cells.
Myeloma cells then reproduce and accumulate in the bone marrow, crowding out other important blood cells. Additionally, these myeloma cells produce an abnormal protein, known as M protein.
A high level of M protein in the blood is the hallmark characteristic of multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma typically occurs in bone marrow in the spine, pelvic bones, ribs and areas of the shoulders and hips. |
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292,000
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Risk factors
The cause of multiple myeloma is not known but it may be more common in:
People with a sibling or parent who has had multiple myeloma
People with other plasma cell diseases
 Males |
 People 65+ |
Most people diagnosed are at
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African Americans |
Multiple myeloma is more than twice as common in African Americans than in white Americans |
Signs & symptoms
Some people with multiple myeloma have no signs or symptoms at all, but symptoms of multiple myeloma may include:
Bone Pain or Bone Fractures
Weakness
Infections
Increased Thirst
Loss of appetite and weight loss
Nerve Damage
Impaired Kidney Function
Treatment options
A patient’s treatment options depend on the stage of their multiple myeloma, but may include:
Drug therapy
Radiation
Immunotherapy
CAR T cell therapy
Stem cell transplant
Surgery
Bisphosphonates
Plasmapheresis
And more treatment options are being studied.
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