[kevinc]

Total protein down, M-spike up - what's it mean?

by kevinc on Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:07 am

Hello,

What does it mean if a person's M-spike (M-protein) goes up while their total protein goes down?

My understanding is that these are somewhat correlated and usually if there is an increase in the M-spike the total protein goes up as well. My total protein has steadily dropped over the last 5 months while the M-spike has been creeping up.

Thanks

[Multibilly]

Re: Total protein down, M-spike up - what's it mean?

by Multibilly on Thu Jul 27, 2017 11:15 am

Hi Kevin,

I would suggest that you look at your SPEP results over the period in question. That way you can figure out which of your protein levels is dropping.

Albumin is usually the dominant protein in your total protein count, so I would first look at the history of your albumin level in your SPEP lab results. It's not uncommon for albumin levels to drop as myeloma activity increases. I don't think they really know why this happens, but this is in fact why albumin levels are used in the ISS staging criteria for myeloma. However, lower protein levels can also be caused by protein malabsorption due to kidney or liver problems, malnutrition, etc. So, it would be good to discuss all this with your doctor.