[Perseverance]

Measurable disease

by Perseverance on Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:30 am

After 3 years in CR and flow cytometry negative status, the following numbers are showing: 33 mg/ 24 hr. in urine; serum m-spike of 0.6 g/dL. BMB showed 4% plasma cells. Is this something that requires restarting treatment. Or, is it just something to keep an eye on? Had been on 5mg Rev maintenance and the Dr. bumped it to 10mg after getting these results. Opinions?

[Dr. Edward Libby]

Re: Measurable disease

by Dr. Edward Libby on Sun Jun 30, 2013 5:23 pm

Hello Perseverance,
Right now it sounds as though you have a "chemical" relapse. This means that your myeloma numbers are increasing (suggesting the disease is returning) but you do not have any of the "CRAB" features. Increasing the dose of lenalidomide if reasonable. If the numbers continue to increase in spite of that your oncologist may choose to restart "full" therapy. Generally I would not restart full or standard treatment unless you develop a CRAB feature or the myeloma numbers increase more than this.
Thank you for sharing your story with the Beacon and its readers