Abstract:

Objective To investigate the changes of serum beta₂-microglobulin（β₂-MG）and lactate dehydrogenase（LDH） in multiple myeloma（MM） patients before and after the treatment with a combination of honokiol （HNK）and arsenic trioxide（As₂O₃）.Methods A total of 35 patients diagnosed as MM were enrolled. They were treated with As₂O₃ and HNK on the basis of VAD（vincristine+adriamycin+dexamethasone）treatment. The levels of hemoglobin,M protein,β₂-MG and LDH in venous blood and the proportions of plasma cells in bone marrow were determined before and after treatment for 4,8 and 12 weeks. Results Remission rate and control rate increased with treatment time. After treatment for 12 weeks,remission rate and control rate were higher than those after treatment for 4 and 8 weeks（P<0.05）. There was no statistical significance for remission and control rates between 4 and 8 weeks after treatment（P>0.05）. After treatment for 4,8 and 12 weeks,the levels of hemoglobin were higher than that before treatment（P<0.05）,but the levels of M protein,β₂-MG and LDH and the proportions of plasma cells were lower than those before treatment（P<0.05）,and there was statistical significance at different treatment time（P<0.05）. Conclusions The combined treatment with HNK and As₂O₃ on the basis of VAD treatment can decrease the levels of β₂-MG and LDH in MM patients.

Key words: Beta2-microglobulin, Lactate dehydrogenase, Honokiol, Arsenic trioxide, Multiple myeloma