[lkaur]

Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by lkaur on Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:23 am

Hello everyone,

My mother did some blood test (please see attached blood report) and doctor suspected that she has multiple myeloma. I never heard about this before, so we are really scared and waiting for other blood and urine test results to come. We are extremely scared and it has become very difficult for us to wait till other reports come. I would like to know that based upon the attached blood report, can it be concluded she has myeloma?

Are there any other causes which could lead to elevated level of alpha2, beta, gamma globulin?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Blood Report v2.jpg (117.52 KiB) Viewed 687 times

[Eric Hofacket]

Re: Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by Eric Hofacket on Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:47 am

Ikaur,

You are certainly not the first person to find the Myeloma Beacon and post lab results asking the question if this is myeloma or not while waiting for a future appointment with the doctor to go over the results. In this situation I feel it is best, and I know it is hard, to wait and go over these lab results with your mother’s doctor who has examined her, has the complete set of labs and any imaging, and can explain what all this means for your mother and what the next steps will be, or hopefully not be because all is well.

It would be a horrible thing to get a fatal cancer diagnosis from an anonymous person over the Internet to discover later with your mother’s physician that it is something different. Others may feel differently, but that is my view. And if it is myeloma or myeloma related, there can be quite a variation in what this means for your mother in a diagnosis between MGUS, smoldering myeloma, and active multiple myeloma. It is important that this be done right. And from my experience and others experiences, learning of an incurable cancer diagnosis when home alone is not a good thing.

If you do learn you mother has MGUS, smoldering myeloma, or active myeloma, you will find the Myeloma Beacon a good resource to learn more about these conditions, how they are treated, where to find resources, and what future trends are in treating this disease. People who already know they have myeloma do talk a lot about their lab results here and there are quite a number of Beacon readers with myeloma who have become quite knowledgeable about them, and the Beacon also has medical advisors who are myeloma specialists and valuable resource to help answer questions.

But, at this point in time in your mother’s case, where a diagnosis is still in progress, I feel it is best she needs to hear what her doctors has to say about these labs first.

Best wishes to you and our mother,
Eric

[lkaur]

Re: Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by lkaur on Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:15 am

Thanks for replying. My concern is that we are not able to understand what this alpha beta gamma globulin means and indicate. The next appointment is on 17th and I am soo worried that I cannot wait till the 17th. So if someone can help me explaining these results, I will be really greatful.

[TerryH]

Re: Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by TerryH on Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:24 pm

Welcome to the forum, lkaur.

As usual, Eric has passed on some valuable advice. Right now, you don't really have enough information to be able to tell if your mother has multiple myeloma or MGUS (a very early stage of multiple myeloma that usually never progresses to multiple myeloma, and which does not require treatment). There are a variety of different things that can cause elevated gamma globulin levels, including a simple infection.

The key initial information you need is the results of the serum immunofixation (IFE) and the results of her serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP). The immunofixation will tell you if your mother has a monoclonal protein in her blood -- a key sign of MGUS and multiple myeloma. The SPEP will tell you how much monoclonal protein is present, if any.

Based on her hemoglobin levels, which are low but not below the reference range, your mother does not have anemia, a common symptom of multiple myeloma. Nor does she have any kidney issues, based on her creatinine levels. I don't see any information on her blood calcium levels, which would be the other main blood chemistry result you would want to look at, since it would tell you if the myeloma is doing any damage to her bones.

If your mother's IFE and SPEP come back showing signs of myeloma, then your mother will want to have a serum free light chain test done, a bone marrow biopsy, and some imaging (xrays, MRI, or PET/CT). But the IFE and SPEP results are what are key at this point.

Good luck!

[lkaur]

Re: Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by lkaur on Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:48 am

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. Can you please help me to understand what monoclonal protein or M protein means? Are M-proteins (Paraproteins) indicated by gamma globulin? Also which parameter we should look in test report to see if there are any monoclonal protein? Please help me to clarify these doubts.

Thanks again for your time and consideration.

[TerryH]

Re: Do my mother's lab results indicate multiple myeloma?

by TerryH on Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:28 pm

Hello lkaur,

The SPEP test will report the amount of any monoclonal protein (M-spike) detected, in addition to results for things like alpha 1 globulin, alpha 2 globulin, etc. The amount of the M-spike is often in the comments to the test, which I don't see on the results sheet you posted. It does seem like an SPEP was done, however.

It also looks like your mother had an immunofixation done, but a description of the results of that test also are probably in some comments on the test results, which, again, are not on the sheet you posted.

Myeloma and MGUS are diseases where the body produces excess plasma cells. These are a type of white cell that is responsible for creating immunoglobulins, which help protect and fight infections. The excess plasma cells usually come from a single "clone", or mutant plasma cell, that reproduces excessively. That's why they are called monoclonal plasma cells, and the protein they produce is called monoclonal protein. The monoclonal protein is sometimes called "paraprotein", so myeloma patients watch their "monoclonal protein level", "paraprotein level", or, in American English, "M-spike". (The monoclonal protein appears as a "spike", or peak, on graphs that are commonly used in diagnosing and monitoring the disease.)

There is a Wikipedia article about multiple myeloma in German that may help you better understand what the disease is about and how it is diagnosed and treated:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiples_Myelom

As Eric and I both mentioned earlier, it looks like there really isn't enough information at this point to be able to tell whether or not your mother has multiple myeloma or MGUS. The lab report you posted doesn't have the most important information. So you will probably have to wait until your mother meets with her doctor, or until you can get any additional test results that may be available, to determine what the diagnosis may be. Even with the additional test results, there may be more tests necessary to finalize the diagnosis.

Good luck!