Research brings new hope of renal recovery for cancer patients

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham has identified a 21 day treatment threshold to facilitate renal recovery and significantly improve survival rates of myeloma or Kahler's disease; a cancer of the bone marrow. Led by Dr Colin Hutchison from the School of Immunity and Infection at the University of Birmingham, the research published today (21 April) in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology shows that chances of survival are strongly linked to recovery of kidney damage, a common side-effect of the disease. The second most widespread cancer of the blood, myeloma is responsible for approximately two per cent of all cancer-related deaths and causes plasma cells to grow uncontrollably. This can lead to myeloma kidney, a cause of fatal renal failure, as blockages form in the kidneys due to unmanageable quantities of Free Light Chain (FLC) proteins produced by the myeloma. Survival is strongly associated with early reduction of FLCs to reverse the kidney damage, which can be achieved by effective chemotherapy. 39 patients with myeloma kidney were monitored at the University Hospital Birmingham and the Mayo Clinic, Rochester in the United States of America as part of this research. They each received a combination treatment of direct removal of FLCs and chemotherapy in an attempt to determine whether there is a target threshold by which FLCs should be reduced to facilitate renal recovery.