Prognostic value of pretreatment serum β2 microglobulin in myeloma: A southwest oncology group study

Abstract

Six hundred twelve eligible, previously untreated patients with active multiple myeloma and at least some data available for analysis were entered into a randomized trial (Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG] Phase III myeloma study 8229/30), in which the prognostic significance of pretreatment serum β2 microglobulin levels was evaluated. Because there was no statistically significant survival difference between the alternating and syncopating VMCP/VBAP regimens, it was possible to evaluate serum β2 microglobulin for the total population all together. The serum β2 microglobulin measurements showed the highest significance of any prognostic factor, both in the bivariate and multivariate regression analyses. The median survival was 36 months for the 322 patients with pretreatment serum β2 microglobulin values of <6 μg/mL, as compared with a median survival of 23 months for the 225 patients with a β2 level of ≥6 mcg/mL (P