Hello,
Why does my latest SPEP show the M-spike as a percentage (e.g., 13.6%) instead of g/dl? Does anyone else have results reported this way?
Thank you
Best
J
Forums
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jhorner - Name: Magpie
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 49
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Can you copy the whole wording, that way we can see it in the context of the report?
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Sure ...
Monoclonal Spike, SPEP 13.6 % Final
Comments, SPEP Final
Abnormal band, previously identified.
Comment:
Previously reported as:
Monoclonal IgG lambda immunoglobulin and small amount of
monoclonal IgG kappa immunoglobulin identified on 12/16/2013.
Monoclonal Spike, SPEP 13.6 % Final
Comments, SPEP Final
Abnormal band, previously identified.
Comment:
Previously reported as:
Monoclonal IgG lambda immunoglobulin and small amount of
monoclonal IgG kappa immunoglobulin identified on 12/16/2013.
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jhorner - Name: Magpie
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 49
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
I suppose they could take your IgG number from the quantitative IgG lab report (which probably was done when you did the SPEP), and then determine the percentage of your total IgG that was due to the paraprotein. If you know your total IgG level and the paraprotein %, you could then back out the absolute amount of the paraprotein from those two numbers. Just my guess, but I can't imagine what else the paraprotein number would be a percent of?
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
My SPEP used to come back from the Mayo like this back in the late 2000's but in Boston, as of late, they reflect the range and units in g/dl. These results, from my local doctor, show the range/ units as a percentage and I'm not sure how to translate this so I can identify changes? Here are results of full SPEP.
Result
Exam Status Last Update
ELECTROPHORESIS, SERUM Final result Thu Sep 25, 2014 1456
Component Results
Component Value Range & Units Status
Total Protein 7.6 6.5 - 8.3 g/dl Final
Albumin, SPEP 51.4 47.6 - 61.9 % Final
Alpha 1, SPEP 2.7 1.4 - 4.6 % Final
Alpha 2, SPEP 9.7 7.3 - 13.9 % Final
Beta, SPEP 13.3 10.9 - 19.1 % Final
Gamma, SPEP 22.8 9.5 - 24.8 % Final
Monoclonal Spike, SPEP 13.6% Final
Comments, SPEP Final
Abnormal band, previously identified.
Comment:
Previously reported as:
Monoclonal IgG lambda immunoglobulin and small amount of
monoclonal IgG kappa immunoglobulin identified on 12/16/2013.
Result
Exam Status Last Update
ELECTROPHORESIS, SERUM Final result Thu Sep 25, 2014 1456
Component Results
Component Value Range & Units Status
Total Protein 7.6 6.5 - 8.3 g/dl Final
Albumin, SPEP 51.4 47.6 - 61.9 % Final
Alpha 1, SPEP 2.7 1.4 - 4.6 % Final
Alpha 2, SPEP 9.7 7.3 - 13.9 % Final
Beta, SPEP 13.3 10.9 - 19.1 % Final
Gamma, SPEP 22.8 9.5 - 24.8 % Final
Monoclonal Spike, SPEP 13.6% Final
Comments, SPEP Final
Abnormal band, previously identified.
Comment:
Previously reported as:
Monoclonal IgG lambda immunoglobulin and small amount of
monoclonal IgG kappa immunoglobulin identified on 12/16/2013.
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jhorner - Name: Magpie
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 49
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Well, this is confusing to me. Can you call the lab to find out what this is referencing?
Anyone else on these boards familiar with this kind of reporting?
Anyone else on these boards familiar with this kind of reporting?
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Jhorner,
Again, if you provide your total IgG, I bet the paraprotein level will fall out from that (again, this is just my best guess as a layman). The math is easy:
Since you have IgG type multiple myeloma, your Paraprotein level = IgG level*(Paraprotein %). So, just take you IgG number (which is in a separate lab report) and multiply it by 0.136
It looks like they did something similar with all your protein levels on the SPEP. The total protein is the sum of all the individual proteins (albumin, alpha1, etc). So, they just expressed those as percentages of your total protein on the SPEP.
As an example, to figure out your absolute albumin level, you would just do the following:
Albumin Level = Total Protein Level * (albumin %) = 7.6 g/dL * 0.514 = 3.91 g/dL.
Toni's suggestion is also a good one ... just call the lab and ask them
Again, if you provide your total IgG, I bet the paraprotein level will fall out from that (again, this is just my best guess as a layman). The math is easy:
Since you have IgG type multiple myeloma, your Paraprotein level = IgG level*(Paraprotein %). So, just take you IgG number (which is in a separate lab report) and multiply it by 0.136
It looks like they did something similar with all your protein levels on the SPEP. The total protein is the sum of all the individual proteins (albumin, alpha1, etc). So, they just expressed those as percentages of your total protein on the SPEP.
As an example, to figure out your absolute albumin level, you would just do the following:
Albumin Level = Total Protein Level * (albumin %) = 7.6 g/dL * 0.514 = 3.91 g/dL.
Toni's suggestion is also a good one ... just call the lab and ask them
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
I've not seen m-spikes reported this way. I also think that the approach that Multbilly is suggesting for calculating the m-spike's absolute level is basically correct, although I would apply the percentage (13.6%) to Total Protein, not a protein level reported in a separate report.
So my interpretation would be that your m-spike is:
1.0336 g/dL = (13.6%) x (7.6 g/dL) = SPEP % x Total Protein
So my interpretation would be that your m-spike is:
1.0336 g/dL = (13.6%) x (7.6 g/dL) = SPEP % x Total Protein
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Ok, that makes sense. Should have known this looking at the entire report that everything on it is a percentage of total proteins. Thank you so much everyone! M-spike basically hasn't changed 
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jhorner - Name: Magpie
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 49
Re: M-spike reported as a percentage?
Ok, so based on this calculation, what's your m-spike?
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
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