CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SERUM BETA-2 MICROGLOBULIN LEVELS IN HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES

抄録

The clinical significance of serum beta-2 microglobulin (Sβ₂M) levels in hematological malignancies and of the ratio of measured β₂M value to calculated β₂M (β₂M M/CTD ratio) from the serum creatinine level for assessing renal function were examined. The levels of Sβ₂M in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), polycythemia vera (PV), and renal failure were markedly increased. The β₂M M/CTD ratio was increased in MM and PV patients, but was not increased in renal failure patients, suggesting that the β₂M M/CTD ratio is useful for distinguishing between MM and renal failure.
In the MM group, the mean Sβ₂M level did not significantly differ between the patients who received chemotherapy with/without interferon and those who were not treated. However, the mean β₂M M/CTD ratio of the chemotherapy plus interferon-alpha group was significantly higher than that of the non-treated group (p <0.01) and that of the chemotherapy-only group (p < 0.02). In the group with chronic myelogenous leukemia, both the mean Sβ₂M level and the mean β₂M M/CTD ratio were significantly different in the non-treated patients compared with the interferon therapy patients (p <0.02, p <0.05).We speculate that the evaluation of prognosis and tumor mass by the level of Sβ₂M should be performed at the time of diagnosis, before the administration of chemotherapy with interferon.