PLASMA CELL MYELOMA IN A TERTIARY CENTRE IN NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA: CLINICOIMMUNOLOGIC ANALYSIS

Objective: To determine the incidence and pattern of presentation of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in a tertiary health center in Edo state, Niger Delta region of Nigeria noted for its petrochemical industries and gas flare sites. Design: A retrospective study of 30 cases of MM from 1992 to 2004. Setting: University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Main outcome measures: Clinicoimmunologic information in addition to autopsy findings was obtained from case-files. Diagnosis was established according to the standard definition and staged according to the Durie-Salmon clinical staging system. Results: Advanced stages of the disease (II-III) and performance status scale of 2-4 with pathological fractures were the main form of presentation. Overall median survival was three months (P<0.0001) with 33.3 % of the patients surviving at 12 months and 13.3 % at 24 months. Conclusion: Bone pains and anaemia with pathological fractures were the commonest characteristic features with a short three months median survival rate