title: Levels of beta 2 microglobulin have a prognostic relevance for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with regard to survival and the risk of transformation into acute myelogenous leukemia.
abstract: We evaluated the relevance of beta 2 microglobulin (B2M) plasma concentration in 109 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) from the Duesseldorf registry. Sixty-five patients with B2M level > or =2mg/dl showed a significantly lower overall survival time with a median of 23 in comparison to 61 months for 44 patients with B2M below 2mg/dl. The risk of AML evolution was higher in patients with B2M> or =2mg/dl. Using multivariate analysis we found the B2M level at the time of diagnosis to be an independent prognostic parameter for survival and for the risk of developing AML in high-risk MDS patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Moorenstr. 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany. Frank.Neumann@med.uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gattermann
authors.forename: Hans-Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Barthelmes
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Germing
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin