About the PROMISE Study
WHY JOIN PROMISE?
We're inviting qualifying adults with higher risks for multiple myeloma to be tested for early warning signs.
Even if you're healthy today, and will remain so for many years to come, your blood sample can provide clues that move us closer to better treatments and an eventual cure.
Take the first step today to help prevent multiple myeloma in future generations. Signing up is easy.
What is Multiple Myeloma?
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is the inner part of bones, and it is the factory where different types of blood cells are made. Before a person develops multiple myeloma, their marrow begins to make abnormal cells and proteins. The abnormal cells do not always progress to become a disease, but for some people, the presence of these abnormal cells serves as a warning sign.
Today, multiple myeloma is still considered incurable. However, nearly all people with multiple myeloma had early warning signs first called "precursor conditions." People with these early precursor conditions do not have any symptoms and are told to "watch and wait" to see whether they will develop multiple myeloma.
OUR STUDY'S GOAL
To identify new ways to prevent multiple myeloma in individuals with its precursor conditions.
WHO WE ARE SCREENING
We are looking for volunteers age 30 and older who are at high risk for having multiple myeloma risk factors including:
1. African Americans (because they have a 2-3 fold increased risk of developing multiple myeloma)
2. Close Family Relatives, who have a parent, sibling or child with myeloma, one of its warning signs, or another blood cancer.
Learn more and enroll.
HOW WILL IT WORK?
SCREEN VOLUNTEERS
We are asking for 50,000 individual volunteers to sign up and visit one of the 2,200 Quest Diagnostics labs in the U.S. to provide a blood sample for initial screening.
IDENTIFY GROUP WITH PRECURSOR CONDITIONS
Of the 50,000 samples, we expect to identify about 3,000 people with evidence of a precursor condition to multiple myeloma.
TRACK CHANGES OVER TIME
We will collect data and study this group of people over time.
LEARN FROM FINDINGS
The large data set we build will help us identify which factors are associated with disease progression and which ones are more likely to indicate a benign condition.
INNOVATE AND TREAT
We will use this information to develop new strategies and therapies that prevent progression to multiple myeloma.
WHO WILL BE HELPED?
We all benefit from advancing our collective knowledge of cancer. Specifically, multiple myeloma and its pre-cancer conditions affect approximately 3 to 5% percent of individuals aged 50 and older. (Read more about the studies.)
Because much remains unknown about multiple myeloma and its precursor conditions, healthcare providers often opt to "watch and wait" rather than treat these advance warnings more aggressively. Although the watch and wait approach may be advisable in many situations, more data is needed to help patients and their providers make informed choices about early treatment options.
HOW MIGHT THIS STUDY CHANGE THE FUTURE?
We are paving the way for today's young people to live in a world where multiple myeloma is preventable and curable. We stand with today's patients who are facing their incurable prognosis. We support those people with precursor conditions who are tackling the anxiety of "watchful waiting." Leading cancer experts have stepped up to study what can be done to help these patients. (Learn more about our leadership team.)
By arming ourselves with data, these studies promise to change the landscape of myeloma diagnosis, early prevention and interception.
These studies will not only lead to a better understanding of the molecular markers that prevent disease progression, but will also provide a road-map of therapeutic options that will make multiple myeloma a preventable or possibly curable disease.
We're Asking For Volunteers
who will help change the future for everyone.