What is Waldenstrom syndrome?

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (mak-roe-glob-u-lih-NEE-me-uh) is a rare type of cancer that begins in the white blood cells. If you have Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, your bone marrow produces too many abnormal white blood cells that crowd out healthy blood cells.

How long can you live with Waldenstrom's?

The International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation has found that improved treatments have put median survival rates between 14 and 16 years. Median survival is defined as the length of time at which 50 percent of people with the disease have died while the rest are still living.

Is Waldenstrom's cancer?

WM is a cancer that starts in B cells. The cancer cells in people with WM are similar to those of 2 other types of cancer: multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Is Waldenstrom a form of leukemia?

If your doctor says you have Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, it means you have a rare blood cancer that usually spreads slowly. It's also called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL). This disease is a kind of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Is Waldenstrom's curable?

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is generally not considered to be curable, but it is treatable. Many different medicines can help keep WM under control, often for long periods of time. Not everyone with WM needs treatment right away. In fact, some people are diagnosed with WM before they even have symptoms from it.

What is waldenstrom macroglobulinemia? | Hematologic System Diseases | NCLEX-RN | Khan Academy

How do you get Waldenstrom?

The DNA changes found in WM cells are usually acquired after birth (not passed on from a parent). Some of these acquired changes may have outside causes, but often they occur for no apparent reason. They seem to happen more often as we age, which might help explain why WM usually occurs in older people.

Is Waldenstrom's painful?

Neuropathy: In some people with WM, the abnormal antibody can attack and damage nerves outside the brain. This can lead to numbness or a painful “pins and needles” sensation in the feet and legs, which is called neuropathy.

Can Waldenstrom's turn into multiple myeloma?

Certain changes in the DNA inside normal lymphocytes can cause them to become lymphoma or multiple myeloma cells. Changes in the DNA of some lymphoma cells can also cause them to produce high levels of IgM, leading to symptoms of Waldenstrom's.

Is Waldenstrom's hereditary?

Waldenström macroglobulinemia is not inherited, and most affected people have no history of the disorder in their family. The condition usually arises from genetic changes in blood cells that are acquired during a person's lifetime (somatic variants), which are not inherited.

How quickly does Waldenstrom's progress?

The cumulative probability of progression to symptomatic WM, amyloidosis, or lymphoma was 6% at 1 year, 39% at 3 years, 59% at 5 years, and 68% at 10 years. The major risk factors for progression were percentage of lymphoplasmacytic cells in the bone marrow, size of the serum M-spike, and the hemoglobin value.

How can Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia be prevented?

Most of the risk factors for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM), such as older age or monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), can't be changed or controlled, so there is no way to prevent cancers that might be related to these risk factors.

How rare is Waldenstrom's?

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is rare, with an incidence rate of about 3 cases per million people per year in the United States. About 1,000 to 1,500 people are diagnosed with WM each year in the United States.

What is the difference between multiple myeloma and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia?

Multiple myeloma represents a malignant proliferation of plasma cells derived from a single clone within the bone marrow. While the cause of myeloma is not known, interleukin 6 may play a role in driving myeloma cell proliferation. Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a proliferative disease of B-lymphocytes.

Is Waldenstrom's an autoimmune disease?

Waldenström macroglobulinemia represents a lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma with an indolent clinical course. The existing literature associates this hematologic malignancy with various autoimmune disorders. Notwithstanding, these autoimmune conditions have not been comprehensively characterized or systematized to date.

Does Waldenstrom's cause back pain?

Most commonly it presents with cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, constitutional symptoms, and hyperviscosity syndrome. We report a case of WM in an 81-year-old man who initially presented with severe back pain.

What is new in the treatment of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?

Bortezomib, dexamethasone, and rituximab recently have been shown to be an active combination to treat Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

What causes Waldenstrom lymphoma?

What causes Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM)? Doctors do not know what causes WM but believe it involves a gene mutation. Recent research has found that WM cells have a mutation (change) in a gene known as MYD88, which normally helps immune system cells signal each other and helps keep them alive.

What are the symptoms of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?

Is Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia B cell lymphoma?

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), which is a subtype of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, is a rare indolent (slow-growing) B-cell lymphoma that occurs in less than two percent of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). There are about 5,000 new cases of WM diagnosed each year in the United States.

Is Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia a type of CLL?

The disease is classified as a lymphoma and also has characteristics in common with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is characterized by excessive growth (neoplastic proliferation) of plasma cells. Plasma cells are produced in the marrow and eventually enter the blood stream.

Does lymphoma cause weight gain?

Weight gain is also extremely common among patients with prostate cancer, as well as lymphoma, multiple myeloma and chronic leukemia.

Is Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia a type of multiple myeloma?

Background. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) multiple myeloma (MM) and Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) are two different hematological diseases with the common finding of an IgM monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) [1]. IgM MM is a rare hematological disease representing less than 0.5% of all myeloma cases [1] ...

Does Waldenstrom's cause itchy skin?

Drenching night sweats. Fatigue. Weight loss for no known reason. Rash or itchy skin.

Can Waldenstrom's spread?

Because lymphatic tissue is found in so many parts of the body, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia can start almost anywhere and may spread to almost any organ in the body.