Clinical Analysis of Cardiac Involvement in 53 Patients With Multiple Myeloma Coexistent With Light Chain Amyloidosis.

BACKGROUND

We identified 53 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who had biopsy evidence of light chain amyloidosis (AL), and studied their cardiac involvement and outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Our cohort consisted of 53 patients in whom MM and AL were initially diagnosed from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2016.The diagnosis of MM required > 10% of clonal plasma cells in bone marrow and 1 of the CRAB symptoms, meanwhile, the diagnosis of AL must meet pathologic diagnostic criteria and monoclonal immunoglobulin light chain. Echocardiograms and cardiac biomarker such as N terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide was used for evaluation of cardiac damage on the baseline and before every cycle of the regimen.

RESULTS

There were 36 men and 17 women with a median age of 59 years; their main organ involvement was kidney (72%) and heart (62%). Of these, 22 patients were treated with a bortezomib-based regimen, and the response rate was more effective than the other 21 patients who received non-bortezomib-based regimens (64% vs. 29%). The median overall survival (OS) for the total cohort was 12 months (P < .05). The median OS of the MM cohort with International Staging System stage I and II together was 34 months, which was longer than that of patients with stage III of 8 months. The median OS in Mayo stages I, II, and III was 38, 8, and 1 months, respectively (P < .05). Cardiac involvement significantly adversely affected survival (6 vs. 40 months), as did systolic blood pressure (< 90 mmHg, 3 vs. 8.5 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients coexistent with MM and AL is rare; AL has a negative impact on survival for the total cohort. Especially, cardiovascular dysfunction caused by AL maybe a major determinant of shortening survival.