Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia

Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia is a lymphoma in which malignant cells infiltrate the bone marrow and internal organs, producing an excess of monoclonal immunoglobulin M, causing multiple organ damage. The manifestation of this lymphoma depends on which organ the malignant cells have infiltrated. The most commonly affected organs are the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, which enlarge. Bone marrow involvement leads to a deficiency of all blood cells, resulting in anemia and thrombocytopenia. Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia mostly affects elderly men. This disease is characterized by a syndrome of increased blood viscosity (hyperviscosity syndrome), which manifests as bleeding from the skin and mucous membranes, visual disturbances, and symptoms of nervous system involvement, such as headaches, dizziness. There is no standard treatment for this disease.

Source | Author Doctor Nikas Samuolis, reviewed by Prof. Virginijus Šapoka | Vilnius University | Faculty of Medicine | Head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Oncology