In the first reported trial of THAL in patients with refractory myeloma, Singhal et al (1999) reported increased LDH levels, plasma-cell-labelling index (PCLI) and CRP levels as the predictors of a brief period of EFS, whereas low albumin levels, deletion of chromosome 13 and high numbers of plasma cells in BM were associated with relatively short OS. Here, CRP is linked to plasma cell myeloma.