Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia: A case report

Abstract

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare and slowly progressive disorder, a variant of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, which needs therapy only when patient becomes symptomatic. WM presents usually with constitutional symptoms, organomegaly, cytopenias, and hyperviscosity syndrome. This neoplasm is composed of small lymphocytes, plasmacytoid lymphocytes, and plasma cells that typically involve the bone marrow, and it is associated with an immunoglobulin M (IgM) gammopathy. Here we report the case a 60-year-old male with WM who initially presented with anemia and fatigue. The patient had no lymphadenopathy or any organomegaly. The diagnosis of WM was made after morphological and immunohistochemical examination of bone marrow of the patient along with an elevated serum IgM level. The patient responded well to plasmapheresis and chemotherapy. This case is unusual because the patient lacked the common clinical features of WM. A thorough clinical and hematological work up including serum electrophoresis, bone marrow study, and immunohistochemistry helps in distinguishing WM from other lymphomas and plasma cell dyscrasias.

Keywords

• immunoglobulin m monoclonal gammopathy
• lymphoplasmacytic
• waldenstrom macroglobulinemia