Clinical Analysis of Cardiac Involvement in 53 Patients With Multiple Myeloma Coexistent With Light Chain Amyloidosis

Background: We identified 53 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who had biopsy evidence of light chain amyloidosis (AL), and studied their cardiac involvement and outcomes.

Patients and methods: Our cohort consisted of 53 patients in whom MM and AL were initially diagnosed from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2016.The diagnosis of MM required > 10% of clonal plasma cells in bone marrow and 1 of the CRAB symptoms, meanwhile, the diagnosis of AL must meet pathologic diagnostic criteria and monoclonal immunoglobulin light chain. Echocardiograms and cardiac biomarker such as N terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide was used for evaluation of cardiac damage on the baseline and before every cycle of the regimen.

Results: There were 36 men and 17 women with a median age of 59 years; their main organ involvement was kidney (72%) and heart (62%). Of these, 22 patients were treated with a bortezomib-based regimen, and the response rate was more effective than the other 21 patients who received non-bortezomib-based regimens (64% vs. 29%). The median overall survival (OS) for the total cohort was 12 months (P < .05). The median OS of the MM cohort with International Staging System stage I and II together was 34 months, which was longer than that of patients with stage III of 8 months. The median OS in Mayo stages I, II, and III was 38, 8, and 1 months, respectively (P < .05). Cardiac involvement significantly adversely affected survival (6 vs. 40 months), as did systolic blood pressure (< 90 mmHg, 3 vs. 8.5 months).

Conclusions: Patients coexistent with MM and AL is rare; AL has a negative impact on survival for the total cohort. Especially, cardiovascular dysfunction caused by AL maybe a major determinant of shortening survival.