Drug resistance in multiple myeloma.

The development of multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to improving treatment outcomes in multiple myeloma. Recent studies have indicated that several specific mechanisms of MDR may be involved in clinically refractory multiple myeloma patients, such as expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), expression of the lung-resistance protein (LRP) and suppression of apoptosis via expression of Bcl-2. The emergence of these mechanisms of MDR in multiple myeloma is enhanced by exposure to chemotherapeutic agents. Recently, clinical reversal of MDR by noncytotoxic P-gp modulators such as verapamil, cyclosporin A (CsA), and PSC 833 was explored in acute leukemia and multiple myeloma. Preliminary results from clinical phase I/II trials indicate that reversal of MDR via modulation of P-gp is possible and that coadministration of these MDR modulators with chemotherapeutic agents alters the plasma pharmacokinetics of chemotherapeutic agents. Phase II and III clinical trials investigating the efficacy of these and other agents in the reversal of MDR in hematologic malignancies are ongoing.