title: Bone marrow angiogenesis in multiple myeloma: effect of therapy.
abstract: Recent studies have demonstrated that angiogenesis has a role in haematological malignancies, including multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is characterized by inevitable relapse after standard or high-dose chemotherapy. To study the effect of chemotherapy on bone marrow angiogenesis in patients with multiple myeloma, we used two methods to evaluate bone marrow angiogenesis in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, comparing these findings with those from bone marrow obtained after standard chemotherapy. Before therapy, an increased degree of bone marrow angiogenesis and a high bone marrow plasma cell labelling index (PCLI) were predictive of poorer survival. As estimated by microvessel density (MVD), the median survivals for patients with low-grade, intermediate-grade and high-grade angiogenesis were 77, 30 and 14 months respectively. After therapy, the MVD did not change significantly. However, when patients with at least a partial response were considered separately, they showed a decrease in MVD. Post-therapy PCLI was predictive of survival, but post-therapy MVD was not. There was good correlation between angiogenesis estimated by visual grading and that determined by MVD assessment. We conclude that the degree of bone marrow angiogenesis is a prognostic marker in patients with multiple myeloma and does not decrease significantly after therapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Shaji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dispenzieri
authors.forename: Martha Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Lacy
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lust
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Witzig
authors.forename: Morie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gertz
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kyle
authors.forename: Philip R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Greipp
authors.forename: S Vincent
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Rajkumar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors