Volume 36, Issue 5 pp. 792-800
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Unsuppressed serum albumin levels may jeopardize the clinical relevance of the international staging system to patients with light chain myeloma

Tetsuhiro Kasamatsu

Corresponding Author

Tetsuhiro Kasamatsu

Department of Laboratory Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Maebashi, Japan

Correspondence

Tetsuhiro Kasamatsu, Department of Laboratory Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Maebashi, Japan.

Email: [email protected]

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Shuji Ozaki

Shuji Ozaki

Department of Hematology, Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital, Tokushima, Japan

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Takayuki Saitoh

Takayuki Saitoh

Department of Laboratory Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Maebashi, Japan

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Jun Konishi

Jun Konishi

Department of Hematology, National Hospital Organization Okayama Medical Center, Okayama, Japan

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Kazutaka Sunami

Kazutaka Sunami

Department of Hematology, National Hospital Organization Okayama Medical Center, Okayama, Japan

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Mitsuhiro Itagaki

Mitsuhiro Itagaki

Department of Hematology, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

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Hideki Asaoku

Hideki Asaoku

Department of Hematology, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

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Takaaki Cho

Takaaki Cho

Department of Internal Medicine, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, Niigata, Japan

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Hiroshi Handa

Hiroshi Handa

Department of Hematology, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan

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Shotaro Hagiwara

Shotaro Hagiwara

Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Medical Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

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Toshio Wakayama

Toshio Wakayama

Department of Hematology, Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital, Izumo, Japan

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Akiko Negoro

Akiko Negoro

Department of Hematology, Japan Labor Health and Welfare Organization Yokohama Rosai Hospital, Yokohama, Japan

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Naoki Takezako

Naoki Takezako

Department of Hematology, National Hospital Organization National Disaster Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

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Naoko Harada

Naoko Harada

Department of Hematology, National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center, Kumamoto, Japan

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Yoshiaki Kuroda

Yoshiaki Kuroda

Department of Hematology, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

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Chiaki Nakaseko

Chiaki Nakaseko

Department of Hematology, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan

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Takaaki Miyake

Takaaki Miyake

Department of Oncology/Hematology, Shimane University Hospital, Izumo, Japan

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Nobumasa Inoue

Nobumasa Inoue

Department of Internal Medicine, National Hospital Organization Osaka Medical Center, Osaka, Japan

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Hiroyuki Hata

Hiroyuki Hata

Department of Immunology and Hematology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

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Chihiro Shimazaki

Chihiro Shimazaki

Department of Hematology, Japan Community Healthcare Organization Kyoto Kuramaguchi Medical Center, Kyoto, Japan

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Tatsuharu Ohno

Tatsuharu Ohno

Division of Hematology and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ohtsu Red Cross Hospital, Ohtsu, Japan

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Junya Kuroda

Junya Kuroda

Department of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

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Tohru Murayama

Tohru Murayama

Department of Hematology, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi, Japan

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Takahiro Kobayashi

Takahiro Kobayashi

Department of Hematology, Nephrology and Rheumatology, Akita University Hospital, Akita, Japan

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Masahiro Abe

Masahiro Abe

Department of Hematology, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan

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Tadao Ishida

Tadao Ishida

Department of Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, and Clinical Immunology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

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Eiich Nagura

Eiich Nagura

Department of Hematology, Chutoen General Medical Center, Kakegawa, Japan

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Kazuyuki Shimizu

Kazuyuki Shimizu

Department of Hematology/Oncology, Higashi Nagoya National Hospital, Nagoya, Japan

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First published: 03 September 2018
Citations: 2

Abstract

The international staging system (ISS) is the most commonly used risk-stratification system for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and is determined by serum albumin and β2-microglobulin levels. In the two determinants, β2-microglobulin levels are frequently observed to be elevated in patients with myeloma, particularly in those with renal impairment. In comparison with patients with intact immunoglobulin myeloma, patients with LC myeloma do not necessarily show decreased levels of serum albumin. The clinical impact of ISS in patients with LCMM, in particular the distinction between ISS I and II, may be complicated due to non-decreased levels of serum albumin in both stages. Accordingly, we have attempted to assess clinical relevance of the ISS in patients with LC myeloma. The clinical data of 1899 patients with MM diagnosed between January 2001 and December 2012 were collected from 38 affiliated hospitals of the Japanese Society of Myeloma. Significant difference was not found between stage I (n = 72) and stage II (n = 92) in LC myeloma patients (n = 307). The mean serum albumin concentration of patients with LC myeloma was within the reference range but higher than that of patients with IgG + IgA myeloma (n = 1501), which complicates the distinction between ISS stage I and II myeloma. Patients with LC myeloma had low frequencies of t(4; 14) and high frequency of elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and despite a relevant amount of missing data in our registry (R-ISS stage I; n = 11, stage II; n = 32, and stage III: n = 18), the information included in the R-ISS scoring system seems to be more accurate than ISS to obtain a reliable risk stratification approach in non-ISS stage III LC myeloma patients.

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

None declared.

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