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Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by clonal expansion of malignant bone marrow cells producing a unique monoclonal immunoglobulin. The appearance of abnormal protein band (APB) in MM has been reported during follow-up. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with APB in a single center cohort. A total of 377 consecutive MM patients were treated at the Asan Medical Center between January 2002 and December 2012. We compared clinical characteristics and survival outcome between those with and without APB. Of the 377 patients, 34 (9 %) experienced APB. They comprised 18.2 % (27/148) of patients treated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) and 3.1 % (7/229) of those not receiving ASCT. APB occurred after a median of 7.9 months (range, 2.2-95.7 months) from diagnosis. Immunoglobulin isotypes at diagnosis were as follows: IgG ( n = 10), IgA ( n = 8), IgD ( n = 5), free κ ( n = 4), and free λ ( n = 7). Nine patients experienced a second APB. With a median follow-up of 54.1 months, the median overall survival (OS) has not been reached in patients with APB and was 38.3 months in patients without ( P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that the development of APB was a significant favorable prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio 0.21; 95 % confidence interval 0.08-0.52). Serum β-microglobulin, albumin, creatinine, and ASCT were also independent prognostic factors for OS. Further investigation is required to establish the mechanisms underlying APB in MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP) plus rituximab is the standard treatment for patients with primary gastric diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, a few trials comparing CHOP plus rituximab (R-CHOP) with CHOP have been conducted in primary gastric DLBCL. Among 93 consecutive patients receiving CHOP or R-CHOP as a first-line chemotherapy at our institution, 38 patients received CHOP and 55 patients received R-CHOP. With a median follow-up time of 48 months, the complete response (CR) rate, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) did not differ between two treatment groups ( P = 1.000, P = 0.744, and P = 0.213, respectively). The CR rates were 93.9 % for patients receiving CHOP and 92.5 % for patients receiving R-CHOP. The 3-year EFS rates were 86.0 % for patients receiving CHOP and 81.7 % for patients receiving R-CHOP; the 3-year OS rates were 94.7 and 84.7 %, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, The CR rate was affected by the number of extranodal involvements ( P = 0.011). The EFS and OS rates were affected by the Lugano stage ( P = 0.067 and P = 0.008, respectively). High serum level of β-microglobulin was associated with worse EFS and OS in patients receiving R-CHOP ( P = 0.018 and P = 0.015, respectively). In conclusion, the addition of rituximab was not found to have an impact on patients' outcomes with primary gastric DLBCL. The β-microglobulin in primary gastric DLBCL might be able to discriminate the patients' prognosis who are treated with R-CHOP chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]