Serum platelet factor 4 is a promising predictor in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma treated with thalidomide and VAD regimens.

OBJECTIVE: Frequent loss of expression of platelet factor 4 (PF4) in multiple myeloma (MM) was revealed in several previous researches. The predictive analysis of serum PF4 level in newly diagnosed MM has not been well elucidated. This study is to assess if serum PF4 could be a prognostic factor in predicting treatment response and survival of MM treated with thalidomide and VAD regimens. METHODS: Sera of 122 MM were gained pre- and post-treatment of chemotherapy and oral thalidomide. Serological PF4 measurements were performed by ELISA. Kaplan-Meier method was employed for survival analysis. Log rank test was used significance analysis. Multivariate analysis of overall survival used Cox-regression. RESULTS: Our data showed that the median serum PF4 concentration was negatively associated with MM response and a significant correlation between serum PF4 level and unfavorable clinical features (ß2-microglobulin, ISS stage, del17p and creatinine). MM with lower serum PF4 concentration at diagnosis were prone to gain complete remission and very good partial remission after two courses of chemotherapy. Besides del17p, ß2-microglobulin, treatment response, the low serum PF4 concentration was an independent variable associated with a poor overall survival by univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We speculate serum PF4 is a promising response and prognostic factor in newly diagnosed MM treated with thalidomide and VAD regimens.