Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by uncontrolled plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow, initially asymptomatic, often causing symptoms like bone pain, anemia, renal dysfunction, and increased infection susceptibility. The study investigates the clinical signifi...

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Main Authors: Shrinidhi Sundar, Swetha Raghavendra Prasad, Dhivya Senthil Kumar, Sathya Selvarajan, Sowmya Krishnamurthy, Sridharan Kopula Sathyamurthy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya 2025-04-01
Series:Indonesian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology
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Online Access:https://journal2.unusa.ac.id/index.php/IJMLST/article/view/6712
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author Shrinidhi Sundar
Swetha Raghavendra Prasad
Dhivya Senthil Kumar
Sathya Selvarajan
Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Sridharan Kopula Sathyamurthy
author_facet Shrinidhi Sundar
Swetha Raghavendra Prasad
Dhivya Senthil Kumar
Sathya Selvarajan
Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Sridharan Kopula Sathyamurthy
author_sort Shrinidhi Sundar
collection DOAJ
description Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by uncontrolled plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow, initially asymptomatic, often causing symptoms like bone pain, anemia, renal dysfunction, and increased infection susceptibility. The study investigates the clinical significance of inconsistencies in albumin measurement methods in multiple myeloma patients, focusing on serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) and the bromocresol green (BCG) assay. A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the differences between albumin levels measured by SPEP and BCG, exploring how these variations relate to disease severity and treatment decisions in MM patients. According to the results, SPEP albumin levels were significantly higher than BCG albumin levels in MM patients (p <0.001). This difference is clinically significant, as lower BCG albumin readings could overestimate disease severity, potentially leading to misclassification and affecting treatment decisions. Accurate albumin measurement is crucial for proper staging and prognosis in multiple myeloma. In conclusion, this highlights the need to integrate SPEP and biochemical markers for more precise diagnosis and timely intervention. While SPEP is essential for diagnosing MM and monitoring M-protein (also known as monoclonal immunoglobulin or paraprotein), the BCG method remains useful for staging and prognosis. Standardizing laboratory protocols and exploring novel biomarkers could improve MM diagnosis, ensuring more accurate disease classification and better patient management. Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of these discrepancies on treatment outcomes and survival rates.
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spelling doaj-art-df6f4c4e7ac34b61a400d45c43be1df92025-08-20T02:27:55ZengUniversitas Nahdlatul Ulama SurabayaIndonesian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology2684-67482656-98252025-04-017110.33086/ijmlst.v7i1.6712Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centreShrinidhi Sundar0Swetha Raghavendra Prasad 1Dhivya Senthil Kumar2Sathya Selvarajan3Sowmya Krishnamurthy4Sridharan Kopula Sathyamurthy5Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchSri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchSri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchMGM HealthcareSri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchSri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by uncontrolled plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow, initially asymptomatic, often causing symptoms like bone pain, anemia, renal dysfunction, and increased infection susceptibility. The study investigates the clinical significance of inconsistencies in albumin measurement methods in multiple myeloma patients, focusing on serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) and the bromocresol green (BCG) assay. A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the differences between albumin levels measured by SPEP and BCG, exploring how these variations relate to disease severity and treatment decisions in MM patients. According to the results, SPEP albumin levels were significantly higher than BCG albumin levels in MM patients (p <0.001). This difference is clinically significant, as lower BCG albumin readings could overestimate disease severity, potentially leading to misclassification and affecting treatment decisions. Accurate albumin measurement is crucial for proper staging and prognosis in multiple myeloma. In conclusion, this highlights the need to integrate SPEP and biochemical markers for more precise diagnosis and timely intervention. While SPEP is essential for diagnosing MM and monitoring M-protein (also known as monoclonal immunoglobulin or paraprotein), the BCG method remains useful for staging and prognosis. Standardizing laboratory protocols and exploring novel biomarkers could improve MM diagnosis, ensuring more accurate disease classification and better patient management. Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of these discrepancies on treatment outcomes and survival rates. https://journal2.unusa.ac.id/index.php/IJMLST/article/view/6712Bromocresol green assayCapillary electrophoresisMultiple myelomaSerum albumin
spellingShingle Shrinidhi Sundar
Swetha Raghavendra Prasad
Dhivya Senthil Kumar
Sathya Selvarajan
Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Sridharan Kopula Sathyamurthy
Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
Indonesian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology
Bromocresol green assay
Capillary electrophoresis
Multiple myeloma
Serum albumin
title Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
title_full Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
title_fullStr Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
title_full_unstemmed Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
title_short Significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma: A retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
title_sort significance of serum protein electrophoresis in diagnosing multiple myeloma a retrospective study at a tertiary care centre
topic Bromocresol green assay
Capillary electrophoresis
Multiple myeloma
Serum albumin
url https://journal2.unusa.ac.id/index.php/IJMLST/article/view/6712
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