ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of patients with multiple myeloma harboring 6q deletion, with the aim to determine the impact of 6q deletion on survival. Methods: This study included the retrospective analysis of 382 newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma in our hospital from 2014 to 2017 and compared the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics between patients with and without 6q deletion. The log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) . Results: Compared to those without 6q, the patients with 6q deletion were older (median age, 63 vs 58 years, P=0.039) , had higher incidence of t (4; 14) (30.4% vs 16.4% , P=0.020) , and higher proportion of complex karyotypes (22.2% vs 5.3% , P=0.001) . Univariate survival analysis using the log-rank test revealed that 6q deletion was associated with shorter PFS. However, by the Cox multivariate proportional hazards regression model, 6q deletion was not an independent prognostic factor and its effect on survival was affected by age, t (4; 14) , and other risk factors. Conclusions: 6q deletion was common in elderly patients with multiple myeloma and was often accompanied by t (4;14) and complex karyotypes. However, 6q deletion was not an independent prognostic factor for multiple myeloma.