Multiple myeloma with renal failure. A case for intensive treatment

A series of nine consecutive patients with multiple myeloma and renal failure is presented. All patients were treated with urinary alkalinisation with sodium bicarbonate and/or acetazolamide, diuresis with saline, mannitol and/or furosemide, pulse melphalan and prednisone and, where indicated, allopurinol and aluminium hydroxide. A substantial and sustained improvement in renal function has been achieved in all nine patients. Of five patients with a urea more than 25 mmol/L at presentation, the median survival to date is 64 weeks. Of these patients only one has died --not from renal failure but pneumonia, eighteen months after presentation. The others are alive and well. The results confirm the effectiveness of these measures in both improving renal function and prolonging survival, and suggest a more optimistic prognosis for patients with multiple myeloma and renal failure.