BACKGROUND: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the
prevalence and characteristics of p16
methylation and determine the prognostic implications of the clinical data, hematologic data, and p16
methylation changes in
plasma cell myeloma (PCM).
METHODS: We reviewed clinical characteristics and results of
laboratory tests and investigated the response to
combination chemotherapy and
survival time .
DNA methylation of the
p16 gene was tested by
methylation -specific
PCR .
Clinical significance was evaluated.
RESULTS: A total of 103
patients were enrolled in this study. The median
patient age was 59.0 yr at
diagnosis and the
male to
female ratio was 1.151. According to the International Staging System (ISS),
patients were diagnosed as stage I (N=17, 16.5%), II (N=41, 39.8%), III (N=39, 37.9%), or not classified (N=6). Forty-five (43.7%)
patients and 36 (35.0%)
patients showed
abnormal karyotype and complex
karyotype , respectively, on the
chromosome study. The p16
methylation was observed in 39 (37.9%) of 103
patients , but there was no significant
association between p16
methylation status and other clinical or
laboratory factors and
survival outcome.
Male gender ,
albumin , and complex
karyotype were independent
prognostic factors for overall
survival according to
multivariate analysis (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The
male gender , low
serum albumin level, and complex
karyotype were independent poor
prognostic factors for PCM. p16
methylation was relatively common in PCM, but did not influence the
survival outcome.