Pterostilbene in the Management and Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma is a malignancy of the plasma cells of the bone marrow. This cancer rapidly becomes refractory to many of the currently available chemotherapeutic regimens used against it, requiring an alternative option or supplementary therapy. Pterostilbene is a naturally occurring compound in a variety of commonly consumed plants that exhibits strong antioxidant properties and, lately, has shown increasing activity as an anti-neoplastic compound. A review of the literature published since 2015 on Google Scholar and PubMed was conducted, with a focus on randomized controlled trials and an exclusion of review articles, unless pertinent to pathophysiology of Multiple Myeloma or background on Pterostilbene as a compound. Though data is limited in the use of Pterostilbene as an agent to combat Multiple Myeloma, studies have shown that it, along with synthetic derivatives, can induce apoptosis and limit proliferation of Multiple Myeloma cell lines. While safety has been evaluated in several settings with promising results, for Pterostilbene to be considered as a supplementary treatment in Multiple Myeloma, safe and effective doses of the compound in this patient population must be investigated and established via pre-clinical and clinical trials in the future.