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Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia presenting with spinal cord compression: A case report
Author(s) -
AlHalabi Hani,
Roberge David
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/ajh.20680
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatosplenomegaly , waldenstrom macroglobulinemia , bone marrow , cytopenia , pathology , lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma , macroglobulinemia , spinal cord compression , hyperviscosity syndrome , back pain , spinal cord , lymphoma , disease , multiple myeloma , alternative medicine , psychiatry
Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma characterized by a wide range of clinical presentations related to direct tumor infiltration and the production of IgM. Most commonly it presents with cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, constitutional symptoms, and hyperviscosity syndrome. We report a case of WM in an 81‐year‐old man who initially presented with severe back pain. The patient had no peripheral lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly and his peripheral blood smear was normal. MRI of the spine revealed an epidural mass causing spinal cord compression at T9. Surgical decompression was performed and pathological analysis of the mass revealed a lymphoproliferative B‐cell process. The diagnosis of WM was established after cytomorphologic and immunohistochemical analysis of the patient's bone marrow revealed the presence of a lymphoid/lymphoplasmacytoid‐like bone marrow infiltrate along with an elevated serum IgM level. The patient responded both clinically and serologically to local radiotherapy. This case is unusual because the patient lacked all common clinical features of WM. This is the first reported case of epidural spinal cord compression as the initial manifestation of WM, adding to the spectrum of clinical presentations seen in this disease. Am. J. Hematol., 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.