Evaluation of angiopoietin-2 level in patients with multiple myeloma at presentation and in remission state

BACKGROUND: Angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2) regulates angiogenesis and enhances the formation of new vessels in tumors by boosting the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor as part of dynamic neovascularization. ANG-2 is a marker of disease progression and therapy response in multiple myeloma (MM). OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the level of ANG-2 in MM patients at diagnosis and in remission state and elaborate on its correlation with interleukin-6 (IL-6) and beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) levels. PATIENTS, MATERIALS, AND METHODS: Sixty MM patients; 20 newly diagnosed (ND), and 40 patients in remission were included. Twenty healthy individuals were included as a control group. Plasma levels of ANG-2, B2M, and IL-6 were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: There are significant statistical differences between ND patients and those in remission in hemoglobin, neutrophil count, blood urea, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, B2M, IL6, and ANG-2 (P = 0.001, 0.033, 0.005, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively). ANG-2 showed significant positive correlations with B2M (P = 0.001) and IL-6 (P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: The low ANG-2 level in the remission group with an insignificant difference from that in the control group with a high level in the untreated patients renders it a useful indicator for treatment response follow-up in MM. The positive correlation of ANG-2 with B2M and IL-6 reflects the active angiogenesis with a high tumor burden and disease progression.