[alpenatorParticipant]

Consultants letter to GP noted my diagnosis as IgA Kappa Symptomatic MM
I don't know what that IgA Kappa means.
Anyone know?

[HelenRParticipant]

Hello!

Ig means immunoglobulin (which means antibody, basically, I think). In the case of myeloma, you will have lots of identical useless ones being made (monocolonal protein or paraprotein) instead of lots of different useful ones.

It's a y-shaped molecule made up of heavy chains and light chains. The heavy chains come in three types, I think G, A and M or something like that. Your heavy chains in your paraprotein are A. The light chains come in two types: kappa and lambda. Your light chains in your paraprotein are Kappa.

As far as I know, it doesn't really matter what type you have, in terms of prognosis etc. I only have light chains, pretty sure it's kappa in my case but can't remember for sure…

Helen

[janwParticipant]

Hello,

There is a very detailed booklet explaining all about myeloma light chains on the International Myeloma Foundation website, entitled, "Understanding Serum Free Light Chain Assays". Approximately 20% of myeloma patients have light chain myeloma.

All of my blood test results are normal apart from the high level of Kappa light chains in my urine. When I was diagnosed with myeloma after bone damage, my Kappa light chain level was 2,500 but decreased rapidly during CDT and stem cell treatment to around 40. Over the last three years, my levels have slowly increased to around 600, which my consultant is happy with so long as I do not start to suffer any more bone/kidney pain, infections or raised calcium levels. However, once I reach 1,000 I will need to restart treatment, otherwise my body will be more prone to further bone damage or kidney problems.

The normal range of Kappa light chains in our bodies should be in the range 3.3?19.4 mg/L (different laboratories use different measures) Your consultant will routinely measure your light chains during your CDT cycles to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. You can ask your consultant for your current light chain levels and then regularly monitor the levels over the course of your treatment which your might find helpful to keep track of any progress.

All the best for your chemotherapy over the next few months, which I hope manages to tackle and decrease your light chains.

Jan x

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