Bcl-2 antisense therapy in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell tumor localised in the bone marrow. During chemotherapy drug resistance develops in almost all patients. We have indications that the anti-apoptopic protein Bcl-2 is a key element in multi drug resistance in myeloma. Reduction of Bcl-2 renders the tumor cell susceptible to drug induced apoptosis. This suggests that therapies directed at lowering Bcl-2 levels in myeloma cells in vivo, like Bcl-2 antisense treatment, might chemosensitize the tumor cells and therefore might be applicable for therapeutic use.