Early Plasma Cell Recruitment In Multiple Myeloma Following Chemotherapy

Abstract. Therapy‐induced modifications of bone marrow plasma cell kinetics were studied in three patients with myelomatosis. the investigation was performed prior to and 15 d after termination of a course of aggressive chemotherapy. an increase in the labelling index (40‐212% of pretreatment values) with a corresponding reduction of T_s (5‐34%) was observed in all cases. As a consequence of this combined variation, the fractional turnover rate (which represents the percentage of cells produced per unit time) was the parameter with the highest increment (54‐276%). These results indicate that plasma cell recruitment occurs soon after chemotherapy and is characterized by a shorter S phase and a higher number of DNA‐synthesizing cells.