Corel Medical Series: Cancer/Corel Medical Series: Cancer.iso/mac/Program/c28.dxr/00068_Field_SRC.c28.A.2.txt

Text File | 1997-01-28 | 2KB | 19 lines

• Patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) have enough myeloma cells in the bone marrow and a large
  amount of an abnormal protein (monoclonal or M-protein) in the blood to indicate multiple myeloma, but they
  do not have the anemia , kidney failure or skeletal lesions that are also characteristic of the disease. There are no
  symptoms.
• Patients with plasma cell leukemia have large numbers of plasma cells circulating in the blood. Plasma cell
  leukemia may be the first feature of multiple myeloma leading to a diagnosis or it may occur late in its course
  after a resistance to chemotherapy has developed.
• With non-secretory myeloma, patients have abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow and frequently have
  holes (lytic lesions) in the skeleton, but no abnormal protein is detectable in the blood or urine.
• Osteosclerotic myeloma (POEMS syndrome) patients usually have pain, burning numbness and weakness
  produced by the involvement of nerves by the disease (polyneuropathy). The liver and spleen are often
  enlarged; there may be a darkening of the skin and increased growth of body hair. The breasts may become
  enlarged and the testicles smaller. Bone x-rays usually reveal dense (sclerotic) areas in the bone. Anemia,
  kidney failure and fractures are rare with this type.
• Solitary plasmacytoma (solitary myeloma of bone) means there is a single plasma cell tumor in the bone.
  X-rays of the bones show no other lytic lesions and the bone marrow is normal. Characteristically, the patients
  have no abnormal M-protein in the blood or urine. This tumor should be treated with high doses of radiation to
  the lesion, but about 60 percent of patients will develop multiple myeloma within 10 years.