Understanding how fat cells are involved in myeloma returning

Myeloma is a blood cancer that can be treated but cannot currently be cured. People with myeloma often have periods where they go into remission but they will eventually see their disease return and it’s not fully understood how myeloma cells reactivate.

It’s thought that when people with myeloma enter remission, cancer cells still exist but enter a “sleepy state”. Professor Edwards thinks that fat cells somehow interact with these sleepy cells, waking them up and causing the disease to return and start growing again, but it’s not known why or how this happens and this is something she wants to explore further.

Understanding how fat cells are involved in the progression of myeloma, could lead to us finding new ways to try and stop this from happening, which could extend the lives of people with the disease.

“I think this research is incredibly important for the blood cancer community; while focused on myeloma cells, the transferability of understanding the triggers that awaken dormant, malignant cells across all blood cancers and identifying interventions to counter these cell awakenings is highly significant for all blood cancers.”

Patient Voice Grant Advisory Network Member, living with CML