Elevated soluble MUC1 levels and decreased anti-MUC1 antibody levels in patients with multiple myeloma

Soluble MUC1 (sMUC1) levels are elevated in many MUC1(+) cancers. We and others have shown that MUC1 is expressed on multiple myeloma (MM) plasma cells and B cells. In this study, we measured sMUC1 levels in bone marrow (BM) plasma from 71 MM patients and 21 healthy donors (HDs), and in peripheral blood (PB) plasma from 42 MM patients and 13 HDs using an immunoassay that detects the CA27.29 epitope of MUC1. sMUC1 levels were found to be significantly greater (mean 31.76 U/mL, range 5.69 to 142.48 U/mL) in MM patient BM plasma versus HD BM plasma (mean 9.68 U/mL, range 0.65 to 39.83 U/mL) (P <. 001). Importantly, BM plasma sMUC1 levels were related to tumor burden because sMUC1 levels were significantly higher for MM patients with active disease (34.62 U/mL, range 5.69 to 142.48 U/mL) versus MM patients with minimal residual disease (16.16 U/mL, range 5.7 to 56.68 U/mL) (P =.0026). sMUC1 levels were also elevated in the PB plasma of MM patients (32.79 U/mL, range 4.15 to 148.84 U/mL) versus HDs (18.47 U/mL, range 8.84 to 42.49) (P =.0052). Lastly, circulating immunglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies to MUC1 were measured in 114 MM patients and 31 HDs, because natural antibodies to MUC1 have been detected in patients with other MUC1-bearing malignancies. These studies demonstrated lower levels of circulating IgM (P <.001) and IgG (P =.078) antibodies to MUC1 in MM patients compared with HDs. Our data therefore show that in MM patients, sMUC1 levels are elevated and correlate with disease burden, whereas anti-MUC1 antibody levels are decreased.