Serum growth differentiation factor 15 levels in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.
OBJECTIVE
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological cancer associated with increased clonal malignant plasma cells. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF 15) is a protein that is highly expressed in the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of patients with MM. This study investigated whether the clinical stage of the disease, treatment response and survival are affected by pretreatment serum GDF 15 levels.


METHODS
Serum GDF 15 levels were measured in 35 newly diagnosed MM patients and 27 healthy controls. The correlation between serum GDF 15 levels and various clinical and laboratory parameters was analyzed.


RESULTS
The study demonstrated significantly higher levels of GDF 15 in MM patients. There was a negative correlation between GDF 15 levels, hemoglobin and albumin levels, and a positive correlation between GDF 15 levels, CRP, creatinine, β-2-microglobulin and stage. GDF 15 levels were lower in patients who could receive autologous stem cell transplantation compared to other groups, representing a statistically significant difference. However, in the survival analyses, GDF 15 level did not have an impact on survival.


CONCLUSIONS
High serum levels of GDF 15 may indicate a poor treatment response. Our study supports the prognostic value of GDF 15 in MM.
Department of Hematology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
Pinar
P
Tarkun
Elif
E
Birtas Atesoglu
Ozgur
O
Mehtap
Mahmut Mert
MM
Musul
Abdullah
A
Hacihanefioglu
D000368:Aged; D064592:Autografts; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D055436:Growth Differentiation Factor 15 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000097:blood
C526140:GDF15 protein, human; D055436:Growth Differentiation Factor 15; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin