[ElizabethCook1941-]

Family history of multiple myeloma - do I have it?

by ElizabethCook1941- on Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:53 pm

My younger sister died of multiple myeloma 8 years ago at age 56. I am 69 and have had iron deficiency anemia with ferritin infusions until 2 years ago.

My last blood work showed hemoglobin 11.7 with the only out of range numbers being

MPV 7.2 Low
Gamma Globulin. 0.7 Low

Free light chains - serum:

Kappa - 10.6
Lambda - 4.0 Low
Kappa / lambda ratio - 2.65 High

Total light chains - serum:

Kappa - 170
Lambda - 85
Kappa / lambda ratio - 2.0

What do these results mean? Do I have multiple myeloma?

I have frequent upper respiratory infections and am very fatigued.

Thank you

[Nancy Shamanna]

Re: Family history of multiple myeloma - do I have it?

by Nancy Shamanna on Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:20 am

Hi Elizabeth Cook,

I hope that you do not have myeloma, even though your sister did have it. I think that the definitive tests for multiple myeloma, as determined by a hematologist, would include the serum free light chain tests (that you have had tested) as well as the serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) tests to look for monoclonal proteins. The monoclonal proteins ('M' proteins or 'paraproteins') are anti­bodies that are produced in excess by the mutated plasma cells of myeloma patients. If those tests indicated myeloma, a bone marrow biopsy would be done to look for the mutated plasma cells in the marrow.

I hope that helps. Your kappa/lambda ratio looks quite close to normal, so I hope you don't have myeloma, but you would need more tests done to determine that for sure.