多发性骨髓瘤(MM)是一种克隆性浆细胞异质性，是原发性骨髓癌中最常见的形式。每年在美国有近35,000例新的MM病例被诊断出来。MM是一种缓慢进展的疾病，目前仍然无法治愈。MM患者的中位生存期约为7年，在此期间患者会遭受相当大的致残。尽管引入了新药物和免疫治疗方法，但是很多患者仍然不幸复发，需要进一步的治疗。因此，能够准确快速地确定患者的临床状态的变化变得越来越重要。单克隆蛋白和血清游离轻链水平的评估是目前监测MM患者最常用的检测方法；然而，这些检测方法存在一些缺点。现代放射学技术，如正电子发射断层扫描和计算机断层扫描比标准放射照片更好，但是昂贵且繁琐。血清B细胞成熟抗原是MM诊断和预后的一种新生物标志物。测定可测量残留病变已成为一种重要的终点评估。开发更好的预测MM患者预后和及时准确监测病情变化的方法应该能够改善生活质量并延长生存期。

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell dyscrasia and the most common form of primary bone marrow cancer. Nearly 35,000 new cases of MM are diagnosed in the United States each year. MM is a slowly progressive illness that remains incurable. The median survival for patients with MM is approximately 7 years, during which these patients suffer substantial morbidity. Despite the introduction of new drugs and immune-based therapies, many patients unfortunately relapse and require further therapies. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to accurately and quickly determine changes in a patient's clinical status. Assessments of monoclonal protein and serum free light chain levels are the most common tests now available for monitoring patients with MM; however, these assays have several drawbacks. Modern radiologic techniques such as positron emission tomography and computed tomography are better than standard radiographs but are costly and cumbersome. Serum B-cell maturation antigen is a new biomarker for both the diagnosis and prognosis of MM. Assessment of measurable residual disease is becoming an important endpoint. The creation of better ways to predict outcomes and promptly and accurately monitor changes for patients with MM should lead to improved quality of life and longer survival.