Hello All.
I live in the UK and my husband is going through diagnostic tests for MGUS. I've been reading as much as I can on this forum and elsewhere, but the often-confusing information gets even more confusing to me because I keep seeing US values for lab results and don't know how to translate them into UK values.
For the record, his initial results (quoted) showed:
"IgG kappa monoclonal paraprotein 20 g with abnormal serum free light chain ratio, kappa 90, lambda 6, ratio 14.5; protein:creatinine ratio 80."
Would anyone be able to tell me what how they translate into US values so I can get a better grip on risks, etc?
Thank you very much!
Batgirl
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Re: How to translate between U.S. & UK myeloma lab results?
Hi Batgirl,
In the UK, monoclonal protein levels (aka m-spikes) are usually reported in g/L (grams per liter). In the US, they are usually reported in g/dL (grams per deciliter). So, just take your 20g (20g/L) figure and divide it by 10 to get to the equivalent 2 g/dL figure used in the USA.
Serum free light chain values are usually reported in mg/L in the USA. That is also likely what your numbers are expressed in given you have a kappa value of "90" and are of the IgG kappa variety (you expect your kappa figure to be higher than normal with an IgG kappa isotype and you expect your lambda figure to typically be in he normal range). Normal values for serum free light chains are:
3.3 to 19.4 mg/L kappa free light chains
5.71 to 26.3 mg/L lambda free light chains
0.26 to 1.65 ratio of kappa/lambda
Free light chain ratio values are always the same anywhere in the world since the units of measure cancel out when doing the math.
In the UK, monoclonal protein levels (aka m-spikes) are usually reported in g/L (grams per liter). In the US, they are usually reported in g/dL (grams per deciliter). So, just take your 20g (20g/L) figure and divide it by 10 to get to the equivalent 2 g/dL figure used in the USA.
Serum free light chain values are usually reported in mg/L in the USA. That is also likely what your numbers are expressed in given you have a kappa value of "90" and are of the IgG kappa variety (you expect your kappa figure to be higher than normal with an IgG kappa isotype and you expect your lambda figure to typically be in he normal range). Normal values for serum free light chains are:
3.3 to 19.4 mg/L kappa free light chains
5.71 to 26.3 mg/L lambda free light chains
0.26 to 1.65 ratio of kappa/lambda
Free light chain ratio values are always the same anywhere in the world since the units of measure cancel out when doing the math.
-
Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1