Laboratory tests

Laboratory tests measure components of the serum and urine. The tests commonly used to investigate suspected myeloma include:

• Full blood count (FBC)
• Routine biochemistry tests, including urea, electrolytes, serum creatinine, calcium and albumin
• Other chemistry tests to evaluate prognosis, including beta 2- microglobulin (β2M), albumin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP)
• Electrophoresis of both serum and urine followed by immunofixation to identify and quantify any paraprotein present
• Serum free light chain assay

It is important to have an awareness of the range of frequently used laboratory tests for myeloma diagnosis and monitoring. Understanding the rationale for performing the tests, alongside an awareness of normal and abnormal parameters will enable nurses to have meaningful and valuable conversations with patients and carers.

The following section describes these tests in more detail. The most commonly used tests in the first instance are summarised in our Myeloma Diagnostic Tool.