Korean J Lab Med.  2005 Oct;25(5):285-289.

The Clinical Usefulness of Biochemical Markers of Bone Formation in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

• Cho YU
• Min WK
• Park CJ
• Chi HS

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Bone lesions in multiple myeloma (MM) are related to an uncoupling of bone resorption and formation. This study was to evaluate the potential clinical value of biochemical markers of bone formation in patients with MM. METHODS: Serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and osteocalcin (OC) were measured in 217 sera from 77 patients with MM, 1 patient with plasma cell leukemia, and 12 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS); 30 age- and sex-matched controls were also enrolled. RESULTS: Serum OC, but not serum BAP, was lower in MM and MGUS patients than in controls. Serum BAP decreased significantly as the tumor burden increased (P=0.035), but serum OC did not decrease. On the other hand, serum OC increased significantly in patients in an advanced stage according to the new international staging system (P=0.036), whereas serum BAP did not exhibit such a change. Serum OC and BAP showed positive correlations with albumin; serum OC also showed positive correlations with beta2-microglobulin and creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: Serum BAP, rather than serum OC, appears to be helpful in monitoring MM. The clinical usefulness of serum BAP may be enhanced in MM patients with renal impairment.

Keyword

Multiple myeloma; Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase; Osteocalcin

MeSH Terms

Alkaline Phosphatase
Biomarkers*
Bone Resorption
Creatinine
Hand
Humans
Leukemia, Plasma Cell
Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance
Multiple Myeloma*
Osteocalcin
Osteogenesis*
Tumor Burden
Alkaline Phosphatase
Creatinine
Osteocalcin