When is your next appointment? I am really curious to hear what they tell you.
Here I have copy pasted my question and the response from the nurse:
My friend aged 59 was diagnosed with mm this March. At that time his M component was 37. In August he got a sct and at the first monthly check the M component had dropped to one tenth: 3.7. On the next check it was dropped to 2.4. He was told there was no visible sign of the disease in his bone marrow (they made a biopsy). However the doctor didn't tell if he got a complete response or very good partial response. Could you tell me that? Thanks in advance!
Dear Amelie
Thank you for your email. My name is Ellen Watters and I am the Myeloma Information Nurse Specialist here at Myeloma UK. Although I am unable to comment or give advice on individual cases I hope that the following will help clarify things for you.
A complete response (remission) means that there is no evidence of myeloma i.e. that a bone marrow biopsy shows less than 5% of plasma cells or that there is no paraprotein detected from blood tests. However, most doctors are very pleased if a patient?s paraprotein reaches a stable plateau after a stem cell transplant. This means that there is still some evidence of paraprotein but it is at a low but stable level. If there is a greater than 90% reduction in paraprotein this would be classified as a very good partial response.
It is important to note here that it is not just how much the level of paraprotein has dropped by after treatment but also how long it remains at low levels (known as the duration of response). Patients can continue to respond to a stem cell transplant for up to about 6 months after the procedure, so your friend?s paraprotein may fall even further.
I hope that this has been of some help, but please do not hesitate to get back in touch if you have any further questions or would like to talk things over. I can be contacted directly by email as before or on the freephone Myeloma Infoline 0800 980 3332, which is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
Kind regards
Ellen Watters (RGN)
Myeloma Information Nurse Specialist
