Prognostic Value of Serum Free Light Chain in Multiple Myeloma.

The measurement of serum free light chain (sFLC) has been shown to be valuable in screening for the presence of plasma cell dyscrasia as well as for baseline prognosis in newly diagnosed patients. The aim of the present work was to study the prognostic value of sFLC in multiple myeloma in relation to other serum biomarkers, response to therapy and survival. Forty five newly diagnosed patients with MM were included in the study.

MTHFR C677T polymorphism: association with lymphoid neoplasm and effect on methotrexate therapy.

The aim of this study was to detect the possible role of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism (MTHFR C677T) in the pathogenesis of lymphoid neoplasms and to investigate the influence of this polymorphism on methotrexate toxicity in adult ALL patients treated with methotrexate maintenance therapy. There was a statistically significant increase in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients with CT genotype (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.

Angiogenic factor VEGF and its relationship with biological prognostic markers in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

B-CLL is a heterogeneous disease, distinguishing between good and poor prognosis represents a challenge to hematologists. The present study aimed to assess the relative merit of VEGF as a prognostic factor in CLL and to correlate it with other prognostic factors as CD38 & sP53 in the different stages of the disease. The median values of CD38%, sP53 and VEGF were significantly higher in both high and intermediate risk subgroups of the modified Rai staging system when compared to low risk subgroup.

Changes of serum growth factors (IGF-I & IGFBP-2) and prediction of response to chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) possess mitogenic properties promoting cellular proliferation and inhibiting cellular apoptosis. Thus, IGF-system may play a role in tumor proliferation. In the present study, we investigated IGF-I and IGFBP-2 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for their predictive value to identify patients who could be responsive to conventional induction chemotherapy.