One of the primary means of assessing a WM patient’s disease status is periodic blood testing. Among the more common test sets are the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), Complete Blood Count (CBC), and Immunoglobulins.
Each of the sets serves a specific purpose, as detailed below. There are several items in each set; explanations of each item, along with their typical reference ranges of normal values are provided in further detail in PDF format.
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) – a panel of blood tests which serves as a rough check of kidney function, liver function, and electrolyte and fluid balance.
Complete Blood Count (CBC) – panel of blood tests that gives information about the essential components in the blood.
Immunoglobulins (Ig) – test of the levels of antibodies produced by B-cells and plasma cells.
A good web resource for patients and caregivers who want to understand more about the laboratory tests used in their medical care can be found at Lab Tests Online(link is external), produced by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). Lab Tests Online is available in 13 languages and 15 country sites operating around the world.
