title: Light chain multiple myeloma, clinic features, responses to therapy and survival in a long-term study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We intended to investigate the long-term clinical characteristics, responses to therapy and survival in patients with lightchain multiple myeloma (MM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-six patients were enrolled into the study. There were 42 κ-chain MM patients and 54 λ-chain MM patients. All the patients werestage III in the Durie-Salmonstaging system. Among them, 66 patients received Velcade (bortezomib) treatment and the other 30 did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main symptoms of these patients included bone pain (77.1%), weakness and fatigue (12.5%), foamy urine (8.3%) and extramedullaryplasmocytomas (33.3%). The overall response rate (ORR) was 95.5% in patients treated with Velcade and 60%in the patients without. The median survival times were 23 months in patients treated with Velcade and 12 months in patients without. The median time of progression-free survival (PFS) was nine months in patients treated with Velcade and five months in patients without. The one-year PFS and two-year PFS were 37% and 25%, 27% and 9% for patients treated with Velcade, or without, respectively. The three-year overall survival (OS) and five-year OS were 33% and 24%, 28% and 9% for patients treated with Velcade, or without, respectively. There was no significance in OS between the two groups (P = 0.335). But there was significant difference in PFS between the two groups (P = 0.036).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our long-term study demonstrated that patients with lightchain myeloma appeared to have more aggressive disease courses and poor outcomes, which could be improved by treatment with Velcade.
authors: Jia-jia
authors: JJ
authors: Zhang
authors: Wan-jun
authors: WJ
authors: Sun
authors: Zhong-xia
authors: ZX
authors: Huang
authors: Shi-lun
authors: SL
authors: Chen
authors: Yu-ping
authors: YP
authors: Zhong
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: Na
authors: N
authors: An
authors: Men
authors: M
authors: Shen
authors: Department of Hematology and Oncology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Jingyuan Road, Beijing 100043, China. xinli562@yahoo.com.
authors: Xin
authors: X
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate