early application of high cut-off haemodyalisis for de-novo myeloma nephropathy is associated with long-term dialysis-independency and renal recovery

Background Multiple myeloma (MM) is a haematological malignancy associated with kidney injury resulting from cast nephropathy, which can be caused by monoclonal free light chains (FLC). It has been demonstrated that reduction of FLC can lead to a higher proportion of patients recovering renal function with a better outcome, especially if extended high cut-off haemodialysis (HCO-HD) combined with chemotherapy is used. Patients and Methods In this study, four cases of MM nephropathy were treated with HCO-HD and chemotherapy at a single institution during the period from August 2009 to August 2011. All of the patients presented with acute renal failure and high serum FLC. All patients underwent a bone marrow biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of MM, according to the WHO criteria. Three patients had de-novo MM and one patient had relapsed light chain myeloma disease. All patients underwent HCO-HD concomitantly with specific myeloma therapy once the diagnosis or relapse of MM was established. Results After a median follow up of 26 months, (range, 13-36) our data showed that all patients had a significant decrease in serum FLC through HCO-HD, proving the effectiveness of HCO-HD in managing MM. De-novo MM patients restored their renal function and achieved low-level FLC early on the treatment and become dialysis-independent. One patient with relapsed myeloma remained dialysis dependant. Conclusion Our study suggests that if myeloma nephropathy associated with light-chain disease, HCO-HD should be initiated as early as possible. At the same time a specific MM treatment should be initiated to gain control of the disease and salvage the kidneys in order to achieve dialysis-independency. Further trials to confirm our results are warranted. Key Words: Multiple myeloma, renal failure, High cut-off haemodialysis, chemotherapy, outcome.