Telomeres, specialized structures at the ends of chromosomes, are required for a cell to stay alive and to continue dividing. In normal cells, telomeres shorten with age and eventually cells die. In cancer cells, including those derived from myeloma patients, telomere length is maintained by a protein called telomerase and/or a process of DNA rearrangements called recombination. Since DNA rearrangements are the hallmark of myeloma, a combination therapy directed at both recombination and telomerase may prove to be more effective in controlling multiple myeloma growth.