My husband was recently diagnosed, his kappa free light chain number is 518. We were shocked given the normal range of 3.3-19.4. Our doctor told us not to be alarmed and that he has seen numbers as high as 5,000 and have gotten remission.
I am interested in knowing from others if they have experienced this.
Forums
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LadyLib - Name: LadyLib
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 42
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
My dad's initial number was 700ish; now it's around 30. Another fellow from Australia had as much as 100,000! But, see, you don't need to be concerned about the numbers as much. You'll be fine. The kidney function (I read from your other post) will likely to improve once the meds clear out the bad, light-chain producing myeloma.
Sorry to hear that myeloma has infected yet another victim; but, hey, with the current state of R&D, we must have hope! I wish your husband well!
Sorry to hear that myeloma has infected yet another victim; but, hey, with the current state of R&D, we must have hope! I wish your husband well!
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
At diagnosis my Kappa was ~17000 and my GFR (kidney function) was~12%. My nephrologist said that at ~ 8% he usually recommends dialysis. After treatment (Velcade and dex followed by ASCT) my Kappa dropped to 27 and my GFR improved to 37. My Kappa is gradually creeping up ( ~70 now) but my oncologist does not seem to be too concerned.
Best of luck to your husband!
Best of luck to your husband!
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Earl M
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
At diagnosis mine was in the 1100 range. After the first round of chemo (dex + Velcade + Revlimid) the kappa light chain came down to ~12 mg/L .
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sv25 - Who do you know with myeloma?: self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: August 2012
- Age at diagnosis: 34
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
Thank you all for sharing your information. This is helpful and gives us hope that we are not alone. I wish others would share as well. The testimonies are wonderful.
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LadyLib - Name: LadyLib
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 42
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
It looks like all of you get your kappa light chains measured somewhat differently than I do. My lab expresses the normal range for kappa as 0.33 - 1.94 mg/dL, for lambda as 0.57 - 2.63 mg/dL, and for the ratio as 0.26 - 1.65. When I was diagnosed in 12/10, my kappa level was at about 16 (so I think that would be 160 in your measurement? Correct me if I'm wrong!) It then went down to below 1 with treatment with Revlimid, dexamethasone and Velcade. So the treatment definitely made a difference. It stayed within the normal range until about December / January 2012, when it began to very slowly inch back up (possibly because I stopped taking the dex due to side effects.)
It's now at about 4.0. (40?) (I posted about this under Treatments; I'm trying to decide what my next step should be.) Reading about those with much higher numbers, who are being treated successfully, makes me realize that I am still in a relatively good spot and should not be panicking yet!
It's now at about 4.0. (40?) (I posted about this under Treatments; I'm trying to decide what my next step should be.) Reading about those with much higher numbers, who are being treated successfully, makes me realize that I am still in a relatively good spot and should not be panicking yet!
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Karen - Name: Karen
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2010
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
No need to worry, my light chains were close to 400, three cycles of RVD and they dropped to 25. Had a transplant in Jan 2013 and now my light chains are 7 and M-spike is 0.3. On maintenance Revlimid and my light chains dropped each month following the stem cell transplant to the current 7. Good luck to your husband and keep us posted on the progress. Jerry.
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JBarnes - Name: Jerry Barnes
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Aug 17, 2012
- Age at diagnosis: 54
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
Thanks for these updates. It gives me hope. We get back his first results after 5 weeks of treatment tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers.
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LadyLib - Name: LadyLib
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 42
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
Friends and followers, we have seen improvements as of today's first "marker" result since starting chemo 4 weeks ago. His kappa light chain number has went from 518 to 73 in just 4 weeks (round 1). We are keeping the pace and looking for more movement DOWN. From there, the transplant will likely be an option.
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LadyLib - Name: LadyLib
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 42
Re: Kappa free light chains at diagnosis - what were yours?
At diagnosis mine
IgA <6.67 mg/dl
IgM 11.3 mg/dl
IgG 453 mg/dl
kappa 362 mg/dl
Lambda 115 mg/dl
Kappa free 46.3 mg/L
OLambda 6.0 mg/L
IgA <6.67 mg/dl
IgM 11.3 mg/dl
IgG 453 mg/dl
kappa 362 mg/dl
Lambda 115 mg/dl
Kappa free 46.3 mg/L
OLambda 6.0 mg/L
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Vinod
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