Multiple Myeloma Kappa Light Chain Prognosis

Light chain multiple myeloma is a type of multiple myeloma a cancer of the plasma cells multiple myeloma begins in the bone marrow where white blood cells are formed.

Multiple myeloma kappa light chain prognosis.

Healthy blood cells produce antibodies that help to fight infection. Learn how doctors decide the stage of your cancer and what that means for your recovery. The international staging system iss is now used more commonly to classify multiple myeloma. When the body detects an infection these white blood cells transform into plasma cells which create proteins called immunoglobulins also known as antibodies.

Each of these immunoglobulins have a light chain like kappa or lambda and a heavy chain like igg iga igm etc. There are different stages and varieties of this incurable form of cancer and each one produces different symptoms and levels of risk to the patients well being and life. The light chains are classified as kappa or lambda. The median survival from diagnosis was 30 mo for 52 patients with kappa lcd and 10 mo for 45 patients with lambda lcd p less than 0 0007.

The plasma cells of myeloma will secrete excess amounts of either of these light chains. Additional genetic testing of a patient s myeloma cells can be done to determine risk based on common genetic myeloma features. A lower proportion of kappa lcd patients 15 7 than lambda lcd patients 42 2 died within. The second most common type is the iga myeloma also in combination with any of the two light chains.

65 of patients with myeloma have an igg type. When your doctor diagnoses multiple myeloma she will also tell you the stage your disease is in. Learn more about kappa and lambda light chains and multiple myeloma. Ninety seven patients with light chain disease lcd were studied.

Kappa light chain multiple myeloma treatment multiple myeloma is a rare form of cancer that begins in the bone marrow when abnormal plasma cells accumulate and crowd out healthy blood cells. The serum free light chain test can be used to determine light chain levels of disease so patients will want to track their light chain numbers. This means type g immunoglobulin one of the possible types of heavy chain one combination of types of light chain kappa or lambda. Igm ige and igd types have one much lower incidence.

Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer that afflicts human bone marrow and blood cells.