[brandywine]

How often should your M-spike be measured?

by brandywine on Mon May 04, 2015 5:25 pm

How often is an M-spike taken?

[Chris M.]

Re: How often should your M-spike be measured?

by Chris M. on Mon May 04, 2015 8:35 pm

Hi brandywine,

My husband's labs are drawn monthly and we get a result for his M-protein (M-spike) each time. I'm not sure if that's standard protocol or just his multiple myeloma specialist's preference.

My husband had been in remission for 2 years, but the M-protein has started showing up again. We're in the watch-and-wait phase now, anxious to get his results from last week. Monthly labs are at least some small comfort for us, knowing that when it hits 0.5 g/dL, we'll be talking about what treatment to try next.

Best wishes,
Chris M.

[Dr. Jason Valent]

Re: How often should your M-spike be measured?

by Dr. Jason Valent on Tue May 05, 2015 8:33 am

If you are on treat­ment, I recommend it should be drawn at the start of every chemo­therapy cycle (usually every 3 to 4 weeks).

For patients being monitored off treatment, every 1 to 3 months is reasonable depending on the stability of the M-protein.