[The wide variations of the clinical behavior and prognosis in multiple myeloma]

The clinical course of multiple myeloma (MM), ranging from relatively asymptomatic form to frankly aggressive neoplasia, is more variable than that of other hematologic malignancies. The nature of tumor cells and/or the secondary effects of malignancy as anemia, hypercalcemia, and renal failure have shown to correlate with clinical behavior of MM. Prognostic variables include age, degree of anemia, morphologic subtypes, serum creatinine and calcium levels, Bence Jones proteinuria, plasma cell LI%, beta 2MG level, nucleolus-associated J chains and other laboratory prognostic factors. The plasma cell LI% is the most reliable predictor of survival. Analysis of the presenting features and the clinical characteristics indicates that there are several variants of MM with a poor prognosis, including juvenile myeloma, plasma cell leukemia, aggressive myeloma, high LDH myeloma, J chain myeloma, and amylase-producing myeloma. Four relapsing patterns have been pointed out. The appearance of an additional M-component (mutation escape) suggests the terminal or advanced stage of illness. A new lambda-type M-component can be found in patients with kappa-type myeloma. The prognostic significance of Bence Jones escape varies for different stage of illness. Bence Jones escape is an important predictor of the development of overt MM in patients with smoldering MM. The need for clearly established prognostic criteria is imperative for the choice of correct therapeutic strategies.