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Expression of MUM1/IRF4 mRNA as a prognostic marker in patients with multiple myeloma

Leukemia volume 22, pages 441–445 (2008)Cite this article

MUM1 (multiple myeloma oncogene 1)/IRF4 (interferon regulatory factor 4) is a transcription factor and an established marker of plasma cell differentiation.1, 2, 3 In diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, MUM1 identifies cases of the non-GCB (germinal center B-cell-like) phenotype and has been linked to poor survival.4 Expression of MUM1 in multiple myeloma cells and impact on prognosis has not been studied systematically so far. We investigated the predictive value of MUM1 mRNA expression measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in bone marrow samples of well-characterized patients with multiple myeloma. Sixty patients, median age 70 years, were studied. Ten presented with Durie Salmon stage I, 5 had stage II and 45 had stage III. Newly diagnosed patients (N=48) were treated with different protocols during follow-up. Thirty-six percent were treated with high-dose therapy, 19% were treated with thalidomide-containing regimens, 19% with other regimens (mostly melphalan/prednisone) and 25% received no treatment until now. After a median observation time of 58 months, and median follow-up from bone marrow biopsy of 17 months, 17 patients have died.

Real-time PCR was performed with the ABI Prism 7000 Sequence Detector (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions as described previously.5

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Acknowledgements

We thank Irene Heitzer and Uli Zeman for excellent technical assistance, and Martin Bilban and Rajko Kusec for discussion on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    D Heintel, B Kainz, H Gisslinger, A Gaiger & U Jäger

  2. 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Center for Oncology and Hematology, Wilhelminenhospital, Vienna, Austria

    N Zojer, M Schreder, K Strasser-Weippl & H Ludwig

  3. Department of Pathology, Krankenhaus Hietzing, Vienna, Austria

    M Vesely

  4. Division of Clinical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. E-mail: ulrich.jaeger@meduniwien.ac.at,

    J Drach

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  1. D Heintel
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Heintel, D., Zojer, N., Schreder, M. et al. Expression of MUM1/IRF4 mRNA as a prognostic marker in patients with multiple myeloma. Leukemia 22, 441–445 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404895

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