This article is the first in a five-part series about emerging vaccines for multiple myeloma.  It provides an introduction to the concept of a myeloma vaccine.  The second article provides an introduction to the various types of vaccines that are currently under development for myeloma, the third article describes vaccines for which clinical trials have been completed, the fourth article focuses on ongoing vaccine research, and the fifth article tells the story of a patient who participated in a myeloma vaccine clinical trial.

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The results of a recent Phase 1 trial demonstrate that a multiple myeloma vaccine produced disease stabilization in the majority of enrolled myeloma patients with advanced disease.

Researchers from Beth Isreael Deaconess Medical Center and Dana Farber Cancer Institute designed an anti-myeloma vaccine by combining myeloma tumor cells with dendritic cells, a type of cell that helps activate the immune system. When administered to patients, the vaccine stimulates the immune system to form a response against myeloma proteins. As a result, the immune system recognizes myeloma cells as “foreign” and…

Researchers have announced that in initial tests, a multiple myeloma vaccine protected some mice from developing cancer and helped those with established tumors to enter remission.

In the current study, researchers constructed an anti-myeloma vaccine by isolating proteins from myeloma tumor cells. After inoculation, the vaccine prompts antibodies to develop against myeloma proteins, which in turn causes the immune system to view myeloma cells as “foreign” and destroy them. This form of cancer treatment, known as “immunotherapy,” provides an alternative or additional option to chemotherapy.

The study authors first vaccinated…