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Acquisition of a multidrug-resistant phenotype with a proteasome inhibitor in multiple myeloma

Leukemia volume 23, pages 2181–2183 (2009)Cite this article

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell neoplasm that results in 14 000 deaths per year in the United States.1 Although most patients initially responded to standard treatments over the last 30 years, the development of multidrug resistance was common and left few therapeutic options for patients with refractory disease. Therefore, newer therapeutic strategies needed to be identified for more effective treatment of the disease. Bortezomib was tested in refractory myeloma and displayed significant activity as a single agent.

Bortezomib is the first in a class agent that functions by inhibiting the proteasome. The initial success of bortezomib has provided the rationale for the development of additional proteasome inhibitors such as carfilzomib and NPI-0052 that are currently in clinical trials.2 The success of bortezomib and the expanded use of proteasome inhibitors to include the treatment of newly diagnosed patients will likely result in the acquired resistance to this class of agents. Therefore, we set out to determine the nature of the acquired resistance to a proteasome inhibitor.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by R01 CA127910.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    D Gutman, A A Morales & L H Boise

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  1. D Gutman
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  2. A A Morales
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  3. L H Boise
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Correspondence to L H Boise.

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Gutman, D., Morales, A. & Boise, L. Acquisition of a multidrug-resistant phenotype with a proteasome inhibitor in multiple myeloma. Leukemia 23, 2181–2183 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2009.123

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