Current clinical and laboratory strategies to augment the efficacy of immunotherapy in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is still an incurable, lethal disease for the vast majorit y of patients. Myeloablative chemotherapy combined with autologous or allog eneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation only partially met the great expectations initially set in its efficacy and is associated with a high le vel of toxicity. However, the considerable progress in understanding the bi ology of multiple myeloma led to the development of promising molecular the rapies. Numerous immunotherapy-based approaches are currently evaluated in clinical trials. Moreover, remarkable progress has been achieved in gene th erapy during the last decade, and the repertoire of gene transfer technique s can be expected to improve continuously. Gene transfer is increasingly ap plied in biological therapies in multiple myeloma. This article reviews the currently applied clinical and laboratory strategies to augment the effica cy of immunotherapy in multiple myeloma and aims to define its perspectives in multimodality treatment of multiple myeloma.