[A high serum level of interleukin-6 in a patient with aggressive multiple myeloma].
A 58-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of anemia in March 1987. Monoclonal protein (IgA, kappa) was detected and a diagnosis of multiple myeloma was made. Partial remission was obtained after VAD therapy with alpha-interferon. In December 1989, she was readmitted because of a pathological fracture of the left humerus. A white blood cell count was 4400/microliters with 30% myeloma cells and the urine protein (Bence Jones protein) was 26 g/day. Systemic chemotherapy was not effective. She developed pleural and pericardial effusions, bone mass, disturbance of consciousness and died of respiratory failure only 3 months after readmission. The pleural and pericardial fluids contained many myeloma cells. c-myc gene rearrangement was detected in myeloma cells obtained from the pleural fluid using c-myc exon1 and exon2 probes. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) measured by ELISA was 107.4 pg/ml in serum, 56.2 pg/ml in pleural fluid and 780.0 pg/ml in pericardial fluid. Because of the lack of any overt infectious focus, the level of IL-6 appears to have been related to aggressive proliferation of myeloma cells. It was of interest that C-reactive protein, induced by IL-6, was a good marker reflecting disease activity.
Abe
Y
Y
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University.
Muta
K
K
Kato
S
S
Sadamura
S
S
Nishimura
J
J
Nawata
H
H
Takeichi
N
N
Sakai
K
K
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D015850:Interleukin-6