Folates and vitamin B12 status in patients with multiple myeloma.

ABSTRACT

Serum and red cell folate, serum Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B12 binding proteins were multiple myeloma. Half of these patients were anaemic with a predominant macrocytic type. Altogether 17 and 33 percent had low serum and red cell folate levels, respectively. Low serum Vitamin B12 level was found in one third of these patients. Both TCI and TCIII increased while TCII decreased, while was different from the previous report of extremely elevated TCII in some patients with multiple myeloma. There was a direct relationship between serum Vitamin B12 and saturation of TCI. These finding indicated that folic acid and Vitamin B12 deficiency were relatively common in patients with multiple myeloma. The possible mechanisms of these vitamins deficiency were discussed in this paper.