[Clinical staging and course evaluation of patients with multiple myeloma and benign monoclonal hyperglobulinemia using the Salmon-Wampler total tumor cell mass calculation].

The calculation of tumor cell mass according to Salmon and Wampler was applied in a retrospective study comprising 79 unselected patients with multiple myeloma. The method proved to be a useful parameter for judging prognosis and course of the disease. IgG myelomas showed a better and prolonged regression of tumor cell mass than IgA myelomas. The average reduction of tumor cell mass under chemotherapy amounted to approximately 0.5 log. 38.5% of all patients went into a plateau phase after an initial decrease of their tumor cell mass, 30.8% showed varying values, whereas in 7.7% the reduction of the tumor cell mass occurred in a protracted fashion. The investigation of those patients in whom the first chemotherapy regimen was exchanged for another one showed, however, that the tumor cell mass calculation could not replace other controls, particularly X-ray controls pertaining to the progression of bone destruction. In benign monoclonal hyperglobulinemia, the calculation of the "tumor cell mass" can be applied as a sensitive parameter for judging the transition into multiple myeloma.