Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

Waldenström's macroglobulinemia
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Hematology and oncology
ICD-10	C88.0
ICD-9-CM	273.3
ICD-O	M9761/3
OMIM	153600
DiseasesDB	14030
MedlinePlus	000588
eMedicine	med/2395
MeSH	D008258
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Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), also known as lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, is a type of cancer affecting B cells, a type of white blood cell. The main attributing antibody is immunoglobulin M (IgM). WM is an "indolent lymphoma" (i.e., one that tends to grow and spread slowly). It is a type of lymphoproliferative disease, which shares clinical characteristics with the indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

The disease, named after the Swedish oncologist Jan G. Waldenström, was first identified in 1944. As with other lymphomas, it is characterized by an uncontrolled increase of B cells: white blood cells formed in the bone marrow and lymph nodes. The proliferation of B cells interferes with the production of red blood cells, resulting in anemia. A unique characteristic of the disease is that the B cells produce excess amounts of immunoglobulin, thickening the blood and requiring additional treatment. WM is a rare disease, with only about 1,500 cases per year in the United States. While the disease is incurable, it is treatable. Because of its indolent nature, many patients are able to lead active lives, and when treatment is required, may experience years of symptom-free remission.

WM was first described by Jan G. Waldenström (1906–1996) in 1944 in two patients with bleeding from the nose and mouth, anemia, decreased levels of fibrinogen in the blood (hypofibrinogenemia), swollen lymph nodes, neoplastic plasma cells in bone marrow, and increased viscosity of the blood due to increased levels of a class of heavy proteins called macroglobulins.

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