High levels of serum TIMP-1 correlate with advanced disease and predict for poor survival in patients with multiple myeloma treated with novel agents

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) was evaluated in the pre-treatment serum of 55 newly diagnosed patients with symptomatic myeloma. TIMP-1 was elevated in 47% of patients and correlated with lytic bone disease and increased bone resorption. Importantly, TIMP-1 correlated with ISS stage (p = 0.005) and was an independent prognostic covariate for survival [HR: 1.003 (1–1.006), p = 0.004] in these patients who were all treated with novel agents (bortezomib and/or IMiDs) during their disease course. Our study provides evidence that pre-treatment serum TIMP-1 is associated with advanced myeloma and suggests the further evaluation of this molecule to better determine its prognostic potential in MM.