[CD200 Protein, Bad Prognostic in Patients with Multiple Myeloma]

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a monoclonal gammopathy characterized by abnormal proliferation of malignant plasma cells. The median overall survival rate has changed from 2-3 to 5-6 or more years with the introduction of novel agents. Recently CD200 protein has been described as an immunosuppressive protein that confers a poor prognostic factor in several neoplastic diseases, including MM. The purpose of our study was to determine CD200 protein in plasma cells of newly diagnosed patients with MM and in CD3+ lymphocytes of healthy donors.

Methods: 35 newly diagnosed MM patients and 25 healthy donors were studied. For flow cytometry tests, a FacsCalibur device and CellQuestPro software were used. Monoclonal antibodies for CD38 (PeCyC5), CD138 (APC), and CD200 (PE) were used. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 19v. Mann-Whitney U test, Kaplan-Meier survival curves with Log-Rank tests were done when indicated.

Results: The frequencies of anemia, hypercalcemia, increased in LDH, serum creatinine and b2-microglobulin were 68%, 34%, 20%, 22% and 45% respectively. The treatment consisted in MPT 20 (57%), Thal-Dex 8 (23%), and VAD 7 (20%). Five patients (14%) achieved complete response, 17 (49%) partial response, and 13 (37%) minor response or failure to treatment.

Conclusion: CD200 is a poor prognostic factor for overall survival in multiple myeloma patients. Bone marrow CD3 lymphocytes from MM patients express CD200 protein in higher proportion than healthy donors.