It is also one of the first signs of multiple myeloma, as these patients will have a higher frequency of different infections early on. Infections in patients with multiple myeloma are usually viral or bacterial. Bacterial infection usually presents with pneumonia and bacteremia. Because of several reasons, patients with untreated or relapsed multiple myeloma are more prone to infection. The reason may be the process called immunoparesis, disruption of the immune system. The illness brings about a condition of immunoparesis because of a lack of antibodies—one of the key features of multiple myeloma.
Crucially, even after being treated with a course of therapy, their susceptibility to infection does not improve. Treatment-associated immunosuppression also predisposes to this complication. So, until cancer is completely cured, patients tend to get sick more often and appear to have different inflammatory diseases.
Thus, patient treatment is required to keep them under observation and give due precautions against recurrent infections to evade complications. As infection is the predominant cause of morbidity and mortality in this cohort, prevention of infection is of utmost importance. The first months following diagnosis and during recurrent treatment are the greatest risk of infection. The best prevention strategies are vaccination against the common pathogens and antimicrobial prophylaxis.
