CLINICAL PROFILE OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

OBJECTIVE: To determine demographic and clinico-pathological characteristics of patients suffering from multiple myeloma (MM) in Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODS: This descriptive, retrospective study was conducted at Pathology Department, Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan from January 2006 to September 2018. Detailed information of forty patients diagnosed with MM was collected. World Health Organization (WHO) set criterion was utilized to diagnose MM. SPSS version 22 was used for Statistical analysis. RESULTS: Out of 40 patients, 72.5% were males with male to female ratio of 2.63: 1 and mean age of patients was 59.26 +/- 13.1 years. The common presenting complaints were body/bony pain (87.5%), fatigue (72.5%), body tenderness (45%) and backache (42.5%). Pallor was present in 33 (82.5%) patients. Laboratory studies showed mean hemoglobin level of 8.6 +/- 2.1 g/dl, anemia (92.5%), thrombocytopenia (27.5%) and hypercalcemia (17.5%). Elevated ESR >100 was noted in 29 (72.5%) cases. Renal impairment was established in 35% of patients. Urinary Bence Jones protein was present in 13 (32.5%). Serum protein electrophoresis showed M band in 39 (97.5%) cases. Lytic lesions were detected in X-rays of 31 (77.5%) patients. Based on international staging system, nine (22.5%) cases were in stage I, 16 (40%) in stage II and 15 (37.5%) in stage III. CONCLUSION: Majority of multiple myeloma patients in our study were in ththe 6 decade of life. Bone pain and fatigue were the most common presenting symptoms. Anemia and elevated ESR were the most common laboratory parameter. Most of the patients were diagnosed in later stages (stage II and III).