The relationship between some soluble osteogenic markers, angiogenic cytokines/other biological parameters and the stages of multiple myeloma evaluated according to the Durie-Salmon and International Prognostic Index stratification systems.

BACKGROUND The aim of the present paper was to examine the correlation between serum concentrations of 12 soluble biological markers and stages of myeloma evaluated according to the Durie-Salmon (D-S) and International Prognostic Index (IPI) stratification systems. METHODS We analyzed a non-pretreated group of 179 patients with MM stratified according to D-S and IPI. Serum levels of soluble biological markers were evaluated using ELISA, REA and quantitative sandwich enzymatic immunoassays. The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS The staging system according to D-S revealed a highly significant relationship between all stages (I-III) in case of beta(2)-m (p<0.0001) and sTK (p<0.001), in sICTP a significant difference was found only in stages II vs III (p<0.001) and I vs III (p<0.001), in case of sCD(138) (syndecan-1) in stages I vs II (p = 0.006) and I vs III (p<0.001), in sVEGF only in stages I vs III (p = 0.006). In substages A vs B we found a significant difference in case of beta2-m (p<0.0001), sTK (p = 0.041), sICTP (p 0.0001), sOSP (p = 0.008), sHGF (p<0.001), sCD138 (p = 0.001) and sFas (p= 0.001). The relationship between other factors and stages and substages according to D-S appeared nonsignificant. The IPI system showed a highly significant relationship between all 3 categories (1-3) in case of beta(2)-m (p<0.001), sTK (p<0.0001) and sICTP (p<0.0001), while in sHGF only in stages 2 vs 3 (p<0.0001) and 1 vs 3 (p<0.0001). In 4 parameters there were only discrete differences in 1 vs 3: sPINP (p= 0.036), sOSP (p= 0.002), sCD(138) (p = 0.03) and sFas (p=0.012), in the remaining markers the analysis was negative. CONCLUSIONS A highly convincing relationship between myeloma stages and serum levels was found only in beta(2)-m, sTK, sICTP and partly also in sCD(138) (syndecan-1) and sHGF. More favourable was the IPI stratification system.