When to start treatment

The test results will help your doctor work out whether you have myeloma or a pre-myeloma condition, and when to start treatment.

Category	Test results	Need for treatment
monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)	low level of paraprotein in blood or urine low level of myeloma cells in the bone marrow no other significant signs of myeloma	MGUS is not cancer – it needs active monitoring one out of every 100 people diagnosed with MGUS develops myeloma each year
smouldering myeloma (asymptomatic myeloma)	medium level of paraprotein in blood or urine and/or myeloma cells in the bone marrow no other significant signs of myeloma	smouldering myeloma usually doesn’t need treatment straightaway may progress to active myeloma, so it needs active monitoring
active myeloma (symptomatic myeloma)	medium or high level of myeloma cells in the bone marrow, or myeloma cells in the bone or another part of the body significant signs of myeloma	active myeloma requires treatment

This information was last reviewed in October 2018. View who reviewed this content.

Dr Jane Estell, Senior Staff Specialist, Haematology Department, Concord Cancer Centre, and Senior Clinical Lecturer, The University of Sydney; Brenda Clasquin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council NSW; Jacqui Keogh, Senior Myeloma Support Nurse, Myeloma Australia; Dr Silvia Ling, Haematologist, Liverpool Hospital and Sydney Adventist Hospital; and John Miller, Consumer.

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