Spurious Electrolyte and Acid-Base Disorders in the Patient With Cancer: A Review.

Electrolyte and acid-base disorders are frequently encountered in patients with malignancy, either due to cancer itself or as a complication of its therapy. However, spurious electrolyte disorders can complicate the interpretation and management of these patients. Several electrolytes can be artifactually increased or decreased such that the serum electrolyte values do not correspond to their actual systemic levels, potentially resulting in extensive diagnostic investigations and therapeutic interventions. Examples of spurious derangements include pseudohyponatremia, pseudohypokalemia, pseudohyperkalemia, pseudohypophosphatemia, pseudohyperphosphatemia, and artifactual acid-base abnormalities. Correctly interpreting these artifactual laboratory abnormalities is imperative for avoiding unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions in cancer patients. The factors influencing these spurious results also must be recognized, along with the steps to minimize them. We present a narrative review of commonly reported pseudo electrolyte disorders and describe strategies to exclude erroneous interpretations of these laboratory values and avoid pitfalls. Awareness and recognition of spurious electrolyte and acid-base disorders can prevent unnecessary and harmful treatments.

Unusual Cases of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal Significance.

Introduction: Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) is a rare entity describing patients with renal impairment related to the secretion of immunoglobulins without hematological criteria for treatment of a specific disease. We present 3 cases of MGRS identified at our center that were either rare or difficult to diagnose. Case Presentations. The first patient presented with monoclonal membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in the context of known chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diagnosed about 10 years prior. She presented with nephritic syndrome with serum protein electrophoresis revealing an IgG/lambda peak of less than 1 g/L, stable from the last few years. A renal biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of monoclonal membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with granular IgG and C3 deposits of various sizes. The second patient presented with renal TMA in the context of IgM MGUS. The patient was admitted for acute nephritic syndrome and thrombotic microangiopathy. Serum protein electrophoresis demonstrated IgM/kappa paraprotein at 1.8 g/L, with a kappa/lambda ratio of 5.48. Renal biopsy demonstrated endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis associated with the presence of numerous monotypic IgM/kappa intracapillary pseudothrombi. Characteristic changes of thrombotic microangiopathy were also described. The third patient presented with immunotactoid glomerulonephritis likely from small B-cell lymphoma that later transformed to DLBCL. The patient presented with acute renal failure with IgM/kappa paraprotein of less than 1 g/L on electrophoresis and with a kappa/lambda ratio of 7.09. A diagnosis of immunotactoid glomerulonephritis was made on renal biopsy. Bone marrow with limited specimen revealed a B-cell infiltrate. Biopsy of a breast lesion was compatible with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Lymphomatous cells expressed IgM/kappa, thus confirming paraprotein-associated renal lesion. Conclusion: We described 3 different cases of MGRS, highlighting the diversity of renal pathohistological presentations and different associated lymphoproliferative disorders. Biopsy should rapidly be considered, as early diagnosis of MGRS is essential to initiate clone-directed therapy promptly to prevent progression to ESRD or hematologic progression to malignancy.

Membranous nephropathy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia responsive to ibrutinib: A case report.

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is an uncommon renal presentation in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and as such, there is no standard therapy for these patients. A few cases of MN in CLL have been described with varying success in MN treatment involving alkylating agents and fludarabine. Here we report the first case of MN in a patient with CLL treated with ibrutinib with complete renal response. This presentation underlines the importance of recognizing rare glomerular diseases that may occur with CLL and offers a new therapeutic avenue to the treatment of CLL-associated MN.