[Waldenström macroglobulinemia complicated by peripheral neuropathy due to neural infiltration]

Rinsho Ketsueki. 2023;64(1):18-22. doi: 10.11406/rinketsu.64.18.
[Article in Japanese]

Abstract

A 51-year-old man with the chief complaint of glove- and stocking-type dysesthesia for >3 years was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) based on IgM-type M-proteinemia, bone marrow infiltration of plasmacytoid B cells, multiple lymphadenopathies, and splenomegaly. A nerve conduction examination suggested demyelinating neuropathy. Serum anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein antibody was negative. Sural nerve biopsy showed myelin thinning, suggesting demyelination. Axonal damage and tumor cell infiltration in the intrafascicular epineurium were also observed. After chemotherapies with rituximab and bendamustine, M-proteinemia and lymphadenopathies disappeared. However, abnormalities in the nerve conduction examination and dysesthesia were only slightly alleviated. As articles describing patients with WM with peripheral nerve infiltration are limited, we report this case with a literature review.

Keywords: Neural infiltration; Peripheral neuropathy; Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Lymphadenopathy* / complications
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Paresthesia / complications
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* / complications
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* / pathology
  • Rituximab / therapeutic use
  • Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia* / complications
  • Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Rituximab
  • Immunoglobulin M