[blair77]

Stem cell transplant didn't work!

by blair77 on Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:19 am

Going into his stem cell transplant, my husband had an M spike of 0. We just checked the online lab results which are now reporting an M spike of 0.1 at day 72. It went up from 0.

How could this have happened?????

[Christa's Mom]

Re: Stem cell transplant didn't work!

by Christa's Mom on Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:48 pm

Hi Blair777,

Congratulations to your husband on making it through the transplant! Hopefully he is feeling a little better every day.

Most places don't re test people until after day 100. Up until then the numbers bounce around too much. EJs M-spike didn't settle down until two months after day 100.

Lyn

[blair77]

Re: Stem cell transplant didn't work!

by blair77 on Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:40 pm

Thanks for the message Lyn. When I called today they seemed to indicate something similar. They also stated that his IFE which was positive pre transplant was now negative.....this is all so confusing and nerve wracking!!

[Dr. Adam Cohen]

Re: Stem cell transplant didn't work!

by Dr. Adam Cohen on Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:21 pm

During the first few months after transplant, there often can be low level M-spikes that come and go. Sometimes even 2 or 3 M-spikes can be seen at the same time, which may be different in type than the patient's original one (this is called oligoclonal reconstitution). This is usually not anything to worry about, and just reflects the immune system recovering and expanding after the high-dose chemotherapy. This most commonly settles out by 3-6 months post-transplant, though occasionally can persist out to a year.