Multiple Myeloma Group Honours Project #4: Biomarkers in multiple myeloma CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected] Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable clonal plasma cell malignancy localised in the bone marrow. It is a heterogenous disease characterised by de novo drug resistance. MM is generally diagnosed through bone problems, low blood counts, high blood calcium, nervous system symptoms (spinal cord compression due to bone weakness), renal failure and concurrent infections. MM patients undergo bone marrow biopsies for disease confirmation, evaluate bone marrow function and to ascertain the efficacy of chemotherapeutic treatment. This procedure is invasive, painful, have risks of persistent bleeding and infection, reaction to the local anaesthetic or sedative and requires hours in the hospital. In order to minimise patient discomfort and to utilise blood specimen instead of bone marrow, the identification of biomarkers to evaluate MM is crucial. Biological markers are used as an indicator of a biological state. In medicine, a biomarker can be used to detect cancer emergence or relapse or indicate a change in expression of a protein/DNA/RNA that correlates with the risk or progression of a disease. Plasma from MM patients and normal subjects will be used in this study to evaluate which biomarker/s is/are best for disease identification, stage of disease and relapse. The time and method of isolating DNA and RNA will be critically identified to ensure for robustness and reproducibility, as plasma from MM patients will be sourced nationally. Oncogenes and tumour suppressors that we have identified from our previous study will be used as a template for biomarkers for DNA and RNA isolated from malignant and normal plasma. Techniques used in this study are DNA and RNA isolation, qRT-PCR and gel electrophoresis.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:15:31 +0000
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