Review of "An update on molecular biology and drug resistance mechanisms of multiple myeloma"

The overall structure of the article will be discussed in this post.

Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells by making them multiply numerously especially in the bone marrow. Plasma cells become cancerous and begin to affect the immune system, the bone, and the number of platelets in the body. In this article, “An update on molecular biology and drug resistance mechanisms of multiple myeloma”, the focus is on the different mechanisms that are known to cause the disease, the developments on the resistances against drugs, and ways in which all of this can be overcome.

 The article is set-up by giving some background of the disease, transitions onto the various ways multiple myeloma can develop, and then describes how it has been found to be drug and treatment resistant.

 The reader is presented with a lot of information within the first paragraphs that can become overwhelming and most of all confusing. It just keeps mentioning one thing after another without really explaining one concept coherently. The reader is left with questions like “where did this information come from” or “how is this issue relevant or being addressed”. However, since the title does say it is an update, it leads the reader to believe that there might be another article that was published before this one which may be able to answer or clear up any confusions.

On the other hand, the article is able to better describe the resistant mechanisms of multiple myeloma. It mentions the drugs that have been effective like melphalan, but also informs the reader of how it can have negative effects by damaging bone marrow stem cells. Therefore, although the article lacks structure and clarity in some sections, it makes up for it in others. A suggestion would be to divide the article into two so that the concepts can be explained better and independently.

 

Link to Article on MySam