[hopeful27]

Elevated kappa light chains - implications?

by hopeful27 on Fri May 30, 2014 11:42 pm

Can someone please explain what the kappa light chain numbers measure and what they mean? I read my numbers wrong, my mom's initial kappa numbers are over 7000. I think this is pretty bad ... is this a bad prognostic factor as well and why?

[Multibilly]

Re: Elevated kappa light chains - implications?

by Multibilly on Sat May 31, 2014 7:58 am

Hi Hopeful,

You'll find lots of useful previous discussions about kappa light chains here in the forum by just searching on the keyword "kappa" in the forum search box.

Also, be sure to always include your units of measure when talking about any lab results like kappa free light chains. Different labs use different units of measure, so it's important to correctly convey these when you are asking for advice (and to keep this in mind when you look at the above report).

As I recall, you Mom also had an M-Spike of about 8 g/dL and recently started Velcade, Revlimid, and dexamethasone (VRD) treatment. More than likely, you are going to see her M-spike and kappa free light chain numbers drop quite significantly after a handful of VRD treatments.