N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide reflects both left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and myeloma-related renal insufficiency and robustly predicts mortality in patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma

Echocardiography-defined pulmonary hypertension is an adverse prognostic factor for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common but rarely recognized comorbidity of multiple myeloma (MM) patients, while its prognostic significance for MM has been rarely reported.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and prognostic value of baseline echocardiography-defined PH in 426 newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) patients.

RESULTS

Echocardiograph-defined PH was found in 12.7% (54/426) of NDMM patients, associated with older age, anemia, and renal insufficiency, as well as severe diastolic dysfunction and higher BNP and NT-pro-BNP levels. Patients with PH presented with a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation, while with a similar incidence of thrombosis compared with those without PH. Based on similar treatment regimens and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) rates, patients without PH have deeper and better responses than those with PH (p = 0.002). With the remission of MM, 81.5% of PH was reversible, accompanied by improvement of right ventricular dysfunction and normalization of BNP/NT-pro-BNP levels, while could reoccur at MM relapse. Survival analysis revealed that PH was an adverse prognostic factor, associated with reduced progression-free survival (PFS) (21 vs. 50 months, p < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (45 vs. 90 months, p = 0.014). Multivariate analysis further verified that baseline PH was an independent predictor for shorter PFS and OS.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, echocardiography-defined PH is an adverse prognostic indicator for MM patients and should be routinely evaluated in MM patients at diagnosis to make a precise prognosis.

N-Terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) in patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma: report from a single institution

Elevated levels of serum cardiovascular markers including natriuretic peptides (NPs) such as amino terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) have been associated with disease severity and survival in cancer patients and more recently in multiple myeloma (MM). In the present study, we retrospectively reviewed 87 consecutive symptomatic TEMM (transplant-eligible) and 126 TIMM (transplant-ineligible) patients treated at our institution that did undergo NTproBNP testing from 2017 to 2020. Median age at diagnosis was 59.3 years and 75.4 years for the TEMM and TIMM groups, respectively (p = 0.0001). NTproBNP ≥ 300 ng/L was used to assess survival outcomes in the group of symptomatic MM. Patients with AL amyloidosis and symptomatic MM were excluded from the study. Median OS for patients with NTproBNP ≥ 300 ng/L was shorter (45.9 months) as compared to those with NTproBNP of < 300 ng/L (non-reached) (p = 0.0001). In addition, OS was shorter for those with CCI > 2, ISS2-3, and high-risk cytogenetics by FISH and ≥ 70 years of age. Multivariate analysis showed that HR cytogenetics and ISS2-3 were independent predictors for OS in the entire cohort of MM patients. When restricted to TIMM, age ≥ 80 years and NTproBNP ≥ 800 ng/L were predictors for OS in univariate and multivariate analyses. In conclusion, NTproBNP appears to be an independent predictor factor for OS in symptomatic TIMM patients. The use of NTproBNP as a frailty marker remains to be elucidated. However, NTproBNP could potentially be used to guide treatment decisions aimed to minimize cardiovascular and renal toxicity for myeloma therapies that potentially do have cardio-renal implications.