The Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy located at the University of Arkansas performed its 7,000th adult stem cell transplant on October 10, 2007. The five year survival rate at the Institute is now more than 65%; the median survival rate is 7 years. Myeloma, a cancer of the blood's plasma, is treated by collecting stem cells from the patient (or umbilical cord blood if the patient's healthy stem cells are in short supply), infusing a high-dose chemotherapy (which kills the cancer along with the patient's immune system), and then transplanting the stem cells back into the bone marrow to promote immune recovery. The institute treats more than 2,250 patients annually from all over the world, suffering from myeloma. Research is ongoing, drawing from 19,000 tissue samples to identify the genetic mechanisms that trigger myeloma.
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