Apoptosis in multiple myeloma: Therapeutic implications

Apoptosis is the primary means by which most radio- and chemotherapy modali ties kill cancer cells, and abnormalities in the apoptotic pathways may con tribute to disease pathogenesis of cancer. Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a hemat ological malignancy which will affect 14,000 new individuals in the United States in 2001 and remains irreversibly fatal despite all available therapi es. The current review focuses on the studies of apoptotic and survival sig naling pathways in MM cells, which have both identified novel apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins and provided targets for novel therapeutics.