MODELLING OF HAEMODIALYSIS IN LIMITING SERUM FREE LIGHT CHAINS IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL FAILURE

A mathematical model for the in vivo kinetics of free light chains is developed. The model consists of two compartments, one containing the plasma and the other the interstitial fluid. It is used to examine the effects of dialysis on myeloma, a form of cancer that results in high free light chain concentrations. The structural identifiability of the model is analysed using the Taylor series approach, and it is confirmed that the model is structurally globally identifiable provided data are collected both during dialysis and after it. The model is then used to fit clinical data from a myeloma patient suffering chronic renal failure. The data show that dialysis causes a reduction in free light chain concentrations, and this is reflected in the model responses.