Waldenstr�m's macroglobulinemia in young African-American adults

✍ Scribed by Ahmed, Shabbir; Shurafa, Muhammad S.; Bishop, Carter R.; Varterasian, Mary

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 14 KB
• Volume: 60
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0361-8609
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199903)60:3<229::aid-ajh11>3.0.co;2-l

✦ Synopsis

We have identified five African-American patients with Waldenstro ¨m's macroglobulinemia (WM) diagnosed at a young age (ages 35, 38, 38, 40, 51; 4 males, 1 female). All had a history of intravenous heroin abuse and four also used cocaine. Their manner of presentation and clinical course were typical. Three of three patients tested for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) were positive and three of three patients tested were HIV negative. The potential relationship between intravenous drug abuse and/or HCV to development of WM in this group of young patients is provocative, especially since a polyclonal increase in serum IgM is commonly seen in chronic intravenous heroin addicts. More recently, the contribution of HCV is being evaluated in lymphoproliferative disorders. Although WM is typically a disease of older people, it should also be considered in the differential in a young patient with a suggestive clinical picture. Am.