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- Blood and Other Tests
- • A complete blood count (CBC) reveals anemia in two-thirds of
- patients.
- • An increased total serum protein may be one of the first clues to
- the presence of an M-protein. An elevated serum calcium occurs in
- about 30 percent of patients. The level of serum creatinine (a
- measure of kidney function) is abnormal in more than one-fourth of
- patients at diagnosis. The serum beta-2 microglobulin level is
- helpful in prognosis .
- • Serum protein electrophoresis shows an M-protein "spike" in 80
- percent of patients. Immunoelectrophoresis or immunofixation is
- necessary to determine the type of M-protein. The amount of
- M-protein is measured by serum protein electrophoresis or by the
- measurement of IgG or IgA, the two major types of M-protein
- found in multiple myeloma .
- • Ninety-nine percent of patients with multiple myeloma will have
- an M-protein in the blood or in the urine. If the level of M-protein
- in the blood is high or if the patient has blurred vision or bleeding,