Lack of CD56 expression on myeloma cells is not a marker for poor prognosis in patients treated by high-dose chemotherapy and is associated with translocation t(11;14)

Lack of CD56 expression was reported to be associated with a poor prognosis in multiple myeloma (MM) patients treated with conventional chemotherapy. Aim of our retrospective study was to analyse whether CD56 expression on MM cells reveals as a prognostic factor in patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy. MM cells of 99 patients prior to treatment with high-dose chemotherapy were analysed for CD56 expression by flow cytometry. Multivariable analysis of event-free survival in these patients showed no statistically significant difference between the CD56(-) (n = 28) and the CD56(+) ( n 71) group. The lack of CD56 expression on MM cells of these patients correlated significantly with the presence of translocation (11; 14) (t( 11; 14)) ( estimated correlation coefficient = 0.655 95%, confidence interval(0.481; 0.779)). In summary, our results indicate that lack of CD56 expression on MM cells is not a prognostic marker in patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy, but is associated with t(11; 14).