A new test to monitor the risk of multiple myeloma is to be developed in Birmingham.
Researchers from Clinical Immunology Services, at the University of Birmingham, have received £230,000 in funding from Cancer Research Horizons to develop a new prototype test to monitor people at risk of developing multiple myeloma – a type of blood cancer.
Around 6,000 people a year diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the UK alone.
The new test is intended for people with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS)), a precursor condition of myeloma.
Current testing practices are a burden on both patients and the NHS
Currently patients with MGUS have regular blood tests to monitor for changes in their condition.
People with MGUS have a 1% chance of progressing to myeloma each year. For this reason, people with MGUS have regular blood tests to check for any changes in their condition, UoB said.
Frequency of tests can vary from every three months after the diagnosis to every six months and eventually just once a year.
The new test will monitor levels of monoclonal proteins, which are produced by abnormal cells in the bone marrow.
Increases in monoclonal protein will help identify patients who require referral to hospital for further tests – helping ensure early and therefore more effective treatment of patients.
Funding comes on top of another life-saving grant
The funding follows a separate investment of £75,000 front the Cancer Research Horizon’s Innovation Award, which Professor Alex Richter said “enabled us to turn decades of collected data and samples into a robust resource for further advancing myeloma research.”
An initial clinical pilot in collaboration with Dr Tracy Chan at University Hospitals Birmingham is planned to take place later this year.
