Studying Multiple Myeloma in Families:
Genetic Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Is multiple myeloma hereditary? That is a question that Nicola Camp, PhD, has been studying for years and continues to study with the help of multiple myeloma patients at Huntsman Cancer Institute. (Information on how to participate in the study is found below.) She says her research into whether or not multiple myeloma runs in families strongly suggests that hereditary forms do exist.
In her research, she uses a unique and powerful resource known as the Utah Population Database (UPDB). This resource contains 11 generations of genealogical data, which researches have been using for decades to identify and study families that have higher than normal incidents of cancer. The central component of the UPDB is an extensive set of family histories that include diagnostic records about cancer, cause of death, and other medical details. It is the only database of its kind in the United States and one of few such resources in the world, making it one of the richest sources of genetic, demographic, and public health information.
Camp says her team has found families in which the rates of multiple myeloma are significantly higher than expected, and she notes that this is strongly indicative of genetic involvement in multiple myeloma’s etiology. “However, we can also identify individuals with multiple myeloma who do not exist in such clusters, which indicates that environmental or sporadic forms of the disease exist as well,” says Camp.
She and her team also study whether people who have a diagnosis of multiple myeloma in one or more family members also tend to have higher rates of other blood cancers in their families. “We found significant co-clustering of multiple myeloma with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, in particular,” says Camp.
Some solid cancers, such as prostate cancer and melanoma, were also co-clustered with multiple myeloma. Camp notes these results suggest that some of the genetic factors in multiple myeloma may be similar to the genetic risk factors for other B-cell hematologic malignancies and other solid tumors.
Camp has received funding from the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) for her work.
In one of her research studies, she is partnering with Dr. Guido Tricot, Director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Myeloma Program. Her team will investigate subgroups of multiple myeloma cases based on gene expression profiling. Gene expression profiling, also known as microarray analysis, is a technique that enables scientists to measure the activity of thousands of genes in a single RNA sample all at once, which can reveal how a person’s myeloma cells are reacting to treatment. Valuable information can be obtained that can help identify the genes that make treating multiple myeloma a challenge.
How Multiple Myeloma Patients Can Participate in this Research
Any multiple myeloma patient interested in being part of the ongoing multiple myeloma study can call a research coordinator at the Division of Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Utah to discuss participation.
Call 801-587-9304, 801-587-9305, or toll-free 1-877-893-4363.
Brochures about the study are also available in the Huntsman Cancer Institute Myeloma Clinic or click here to download the brochure.
Similarly, individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia are invited to participate in the CLL study.
Participation includes meeting with a research coordinator, signing an informed consent, drawing a blood sample, answering questionnaires on risk factors and family history, and granting permission to access medical records and clinical samples to confirm diagnoses.
The meeting with a research coordinator will take about 30 minutes. It can be arranged for during a patient’s regular visit with his or her myeloma specialist at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Camp’s team is also willing to travel to participants’ homes or another local location in Utah if that is more convenient for the patient.
For patients who are not in Utah, the team can ship materials through the mail to enable participation.
More About Nicola Camp
Nicola Camp, PhD, is a professor in the Division of Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Utah.
Camp completed her undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training in the United Kingdom. Her fields of study included mathematics and statistics, and she specialized in statistical genetics for her PhD and postdoctoral research.
She moved to the United States in 1998 to take the faculty position with the Division of Genetic Epidemiology. The division is renowned for its role in the identification of cancer genes. Camp is now a Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator and member of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences (CCPS) Program.
As a statistical geneticist and genetic epidemiologist, Camp's research focuses on developing new statistical techniques for genetic analysis and implementing those methods to find cancer genes. Her statistical techniques focus mainly on pedigree-based methods. Her primary focus for gene-finding is hematological malignancies and breast cancer.
A common theme across many of Camp's projects is the analysis of high-risk cancer pedigrees. Camp notes that the high participation rate of individuals in these pedigrees together with state-of-the art genetic experiments makes this an "exciting time and place" to study cancer genetics.
“My ultimate research goal is that my methodological developments and cancer-focused gene-finding research will culminate with the identification of at least one cancer gene that will lead to improvements in diagnosis, management, personalized treatment, or even prevention of multiple myeloma or other cancers," she says.
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