CD200 Expression on Plasma Cell Myeloma Cells is Associated with the Efficacies of Bortezomib, Lenalidomide and Thalidomide

Plasma cell myeloma (PCM) is a devastating disease with a highly heterogeneous outcome, with survival ranging from a few months to longer than 10 years. Treatment of multiple myeloma has changed markedly in the past decade due to the development of new drugs such as bortezomib, lenalidomide and thalidomide, which have greatly improved the outcome of PCM. The clinical and prognostic value of immunophenotyping in PCM remains questionable. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic significance of CD200 expression in newly diagnosed PCM. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 107 patients newly diagnosed with PCM at Showa University Hospital between January 2004 and September 2013. Expression of CD200 was studied by immunohistochemistry. Clinical and pathological parameters were compared between CD200-positive and CD200-negative cases. CD200-positive PCM cases had lower serum albumin (p = 0.0001) compared to those without CD200 expression. Our results showed no significant difference in median overall survival between patients with CD200-positive and CD200-negative PCM. However, there was a strong correlation between CD200 expression and serum albumin level. In the CD200-negative group, median overall survival was significantly longer in patients who received new drug treatment. These findings suggest that CD200 expression is a useful marker for evaluation of the severity of PCM and that lack of CD200 expression may improve the sensitivity of PCM to therapy with new drugs.