Multiple myeloma (MM) is a type of blood cancer that leads to multiple tumors in the body. Historically, MM was considered an incurable disease.

MMRF CoMPass

The multiple myeloma research foundation (MMRF) was established so that the medical and research community could join together to find some breakthroughs. CoMPass is the cornerstone project of MMRF – the study involves longitudinal data collection for 1000 patients over the course of their MM treatment. Sample connection was done at the beginning of treatment and at every treatment change.

ASH 2016

American Society of Hematology 2016 meeting announced significant breakthroughs in the battle against MM. Link

Some excerpts:

• through analysis of mutation data in 20 different genes that affect prognosis, researchers confirmed the existence of at least eight different types of myeloma
• researchers found same information from blood sample as they would find from a biopsy (this is similar to cell-free DNA technology used in obstetrics to analyze fetal DNA)