**1. Introduction**

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198 Multiple Myeloma - A Quick Reflection on the Fast Progress

The therapy for multiple myeloma has made major strides over the last 15 years, by and large due to the advances in molecular biology and the focus on patient-oriented translational investigations. Although the survival outcomes have improved significantly, clinical features such as older age, renal insufficiency at diagnosis, primary plasma cell leukemia and extramedullary disease remain major therapeutic challenge. The explosion of data from all the clinical, genomic and proteomic investigations has also made it difficult to assimilate all the information and translate it effectively for clinical practice. Although multiple myeloma is still considered by most though leaders as an incurable but treatable disease, the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic modalities are bringing optimism of potential curability dream of being curable. Over the last decade, new biologic markers and novel imaging modalities have been explored in the context of clinical trials. The present chapter will attempt to summarize these data and propose how to incorporate this knowledge in current clinical practice.
