Modifiable risk factors such as smoking, poor sleep, and obesity may increase the risk of a blood condition that can occur before a type of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma develops, according to research published in the journal Blood Advances.
In myeloma, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow builds up, creating tumors throughout the bones in the body.
“While significant advancements have been made in therapeutics for multiple myeloma, it remains an incurable disease, often diagnosed after patients have already experienced end-organ damage,” Dr. David Lee, a co-author of the study and an internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a press release.
“It’s preceded by premalignant conditions including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a condition that can occur before multiple myeloma develops.
MGUS is a condition in which the blood contains higher than normal levels of a protein known as M protein that is found in 3 percent of people over age 50
In the majority of cases, MGUS is not problematic. The risk of a person progressing from MGUS to myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, is 1% per year. By itself, MGUS is difficult to diagnose
The diagnosis is usually by accident, often driven by tests performed for the diagnosis or management of other conditions.
The disease is more common in men and is twice as common in Black people as in white people.
In the new study, the researchers suggest that being obese is associated with a 73% greater chance of having MGUS, when compared with individuals who don’t have obesity. However, while the researchers note a possible connection between obesity and MGUS, they note there is not enough evidence to prove causation.
“Before we can develop effective preventative health strategies to lower the risk of serious diseases like multiple myeloma, we first need to better understand the relationship between MGUS and potentially modifiable risk factors like obesity,” Lee said.