[hopeful27]

Help understanding bone marrow biopsy results

by hopeful27 on Fri May 16, 2014 6:22 pm

Are these "good' results? Please someone explain what all this means!

Diagnosis: Kappa restricted plasma cell population (2.2%). No evidence of a monoclonal B-cell population.

B-cells show normal antigen expression, and kappa:lambda ratio is normal. There is no evidence of a monoclonal B-cell population. T-cells show normal antigen expression, and the CD4:CD8 ratio is normal. NK-cells are no increased. Granulocytes and monocytes show normal maturation patterns. CD34-positive blasts are not increased.

An abnormal plasma cell population is identified, compromising 2.2% of the total cells. Additional markers performed for further characterization show the plasma cells to be kappa (cytoplasmic) restricted, positive for CD38 (bright) and CD138 (cytoplasmic). The findings are consistent with a plasma cell neoplasm.

[Multibilly]

Re: Help understanding bone marrow biopsy results

by Multibilly on Sat May 17, 2014 9:15 am

Hi Hopeful,

I think you need to put this in the context of your other posts to really understand this. It sounds like from your other post that she is symptomatic (bone damage), has an M-Spike of about 8 g/dL and is on VRD treatment.

https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/how-bad-are-these-initial-numbers-t3291.html

These abnormal plasma cell percentages seem quite low (which is a good thing) ... was the test done after starting the VRD drug treatment or before?

The two key takeaways one usually wants to look for in a BMB are the plasma cell population (which can vary, depending on when and where the sample is taken), and what your cytogenetics (genetic muations) are. From the "FISH" section in your BMB report, your doctor should be able to tell you if there are any mutations that are present that may have a positive or negative affect on the prognosis.