Open AccessTGF-beta 1 and urinary excretion of pyridinium crosslinks: two often overlooked risk factors for assessing risk of progression in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance
Author(s) -
Shailendra Kapoor
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
haematologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1592-8721
pISSN - 0390-6078
DOI - 10.3324/haematol.12760
Subject(s) - monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance , monoclonal gammopathy , medicine , urinary system , multiple myeloma , oncology , risk factor , monoclonal , monoclonal antibody , immunology , antibody
TGF-beta 1 and urinary excretion of pyridinium crosslinks: two often overlooked risk factors for assessing risk of progression in patients with mon-oclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance Haematologica 2008; 93:e38 DOI: 10.3324/haematol.12760 The article by Sackmann et al is highly interesting and provides an excellent analysis of the factors that predict the risk of progression in patients with Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS).1 Two other parameters that may also aid in assessing risk progression and are often forgotten are TGF-beta 1 levels and the urinary excretion of pyridinium crosslinks. TGF-beta 1 is produced primarily by platelets. Patients with multiple myeloma usually have higher levels of TGF-beta 1 compared to patients with MGUS.2 Elevated levels in patients with MGUS indicate increased likelihood of malignant transformation. The second parameter is uri-nary excretion of pyridinium crosslinks. Bone resorption is more common in patients with multiple myeloma in con-trast to patients with MGUS. Detection of pyridinoline (h-PYD) and deoxypyridinoline (d-DPD) in the urine is indicative of bone resorption and thus indicates increased risk for malignant transformation.3 These tests are currently being intensively researched and may play a significant role in assessing the risk of pro-gression in MGUS in the near future