TY - JOUR
TI - Staging Systems and Prognostic Factors as a Guide to Therapeutic Decisions in Multiple Myeloma
AU - Kyrtsonis, M.-C.
AU - Maltezas, D.
AU - Tzenou, T.
AU - Koulieris, E.
AU - Bradwell, A.R.
JO - Seminars in Hematology
PY - 2009
VL - 46
TODO - 2
SP - 110-117
PB - 
SN - 0037-1963, 1532-8686
TODO - 10.1053/j.seminhematol.2009.02.004
TODO - beta 2 microglobulin;  bortezomib;  dexamethasone;  doxorubicin;  lactate dehydrogenase;  melphalan;  prednisone;  thalidomide;  vincristine, article;  cancer combination chemotherapy;  cancer risk;  cancer staging;  cancer survival;  decision making;  disease course;  drug efficacy;  drug megadose;  genetic risk;  heredity;  high risk patient;  kidney function;  multiple myeloma;  overall survival;  priority journal;  prognosis;  treatment outcome, Disease-Free Survival;  Humans;  Kidney;  L-Lactate Dehydrogenase;  Multiple Myeloma;  Neoplasm Staging;  Serum Albumin;  Survival Rate
TODO - Multiple myeloma (MM) patients have a highly variable disease course and survival varies from a few months to more than 10 years. Numerous prognostic factors have been identified, including age, performance status (PS), serum albumin, β2-microglobulin (β2M), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), renal function, genetic factors, and serum free light chains (sFLCs) or their ratio (sFLCR). Several models have been built to separate patients into various risk groups with different outcomes. Staging systems need to be simple, accurate, and readily available in order to effectively guide treatment decisions now that effective treatments exist that prolong survival. The International Staging System (ISS) is currently in use; it is highly prognostic but presents some limitations. We suggest that the ISS prognostic potential could be improved with the addition of sFLCR and eventually LDH. © 2009 Elsevier Inc.
ER -