We demonstrate a 10- to 25-fold increase in the amount of c-myc protein in several independent cell lines derived from patients with multiple myeloma (MM). This is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in the overall level of the c-myc mRNA. There is, however, a 3.4-fold increase in the amount of c-myc mRNA associated with the polysomes in these cell lines without any detectable change in either the polysome size or the rate of translation elongation, thus suggesting that there is an increase in the extent of mobilisation of c-myc mRNA to the polysomes in MM. Analysis of the 5' untranslated region of c-myc has revealed the presence of a mutation, in all of the MM cell lines examined, in a region which has been implicated previously in the translational control of this mRNA species. These data suggest aberrant translational control of the c-myc gene in cell lines derived from patients with MM, which may contribute towards pathogenesis of the disease.