Rapidly progressive myopathy: unveiling light Chain amyloidosis as an initial manifestation of multiple myeloma. A case report and literature review.

We present the case of a 79-year-old man with rapidly progressive myopathy as the initial manifestation of light chain amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma. The patient experienced progressive lower limb weakness resulting in difficulty climbing stairs. Ancillary tests revealed slightly elevated serum creatine kinase levels. The electromyogram revealed a diffuse myogenic pattern while muscle MRI indicated fatty replacement of the quadriceps muscles. Muscle biopsy revealed the presence of amyloid deposits in the vessel walls. An elevated level of lambda (246 mg/L) light chain was detected. The bone marrow aspiration results were consistent with the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. In conclusion, even if amyloid myopathy is a rare condition, routine screening for amyloid deposits in muscle biopsy is crucial and should be performed systematically. In the present case, it enabled a rapid diagnosis and the beginning of treatment.

Report of consensus panel 7 from the 11th international workshop on Waldenström macroglobulinemia on priorities for novel clinical trials.

Recent advances in the understanding of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) biology have impacted the development of effective novel agents and improved our knowledge of how the genomic background of WM may influence selection of therapy. Consensus Panel 7 (CP7) of the 11th International Workshop on WM was convened to examine the current generation of completed and ongoing clinical trials involving novel agents, consider updated data on WM genomics, and make recommendations on the design and prioritization of future clinical trials. CP7 considers limited duration and novel-novel agent combinations to be the priority for the next generation of clinical trials. Evaluation of MYD88, CXCR4 and TP53 at baseline in the context of clinical trials is crucial. The common chemoimmunotherapy backbones, bendamustine-rituximab (BR) and dexamethasone, rituximab and cyclophosphamide (DRC), may be considered standard-of-care for the frontline comparative studies. Key unanswered questions include the definition of frailty in WM; the importance of attaining a very good partial response or better (≥VGPR), within stipulated time frame, in determining survival outcomes; and the optimal treatment of WM populations with special needs.

[Splenic lymphoma, diagnosis and treatment]. / Lymphomes spléniques : diagnostic et prise en charge.

Some common clinical situations, such as splenomegaly or lymphocytosis, or less common, such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, cold agglutinin disease, or cryoglobulinemia can lead to the diagnosis of splenic lymphoma. Splenic lymphoma is rare, mainly of non-hodgkinian origin, encompassing very different hematological entities in their clinical and biological presentation from an aggressive form such as hepato-splenic lymphoma to indolent B-cell lymphoma not requiring treatment such as marginal zone lymphoma, the most frequent form of splenic lymphoma. These entities can be challenging to diagnose and differentiate. This review presents different clinical and biological manifestations suspicious of splenic lymphoma and proposes a diagnosis work-up. We extended the strict definition of splenic lymphoma (lymphoma exclusively involving the spleen) to lymphoma thant can be revealed by a splenomegaly and we discuss the differential diagnosis of splenomegaly.

Current anti-myeloma therapies in renal manifestations of monoclonal light chain-associated Fanconi syndrome: a retrospective series of 49 patients.

We retrospectively reviewed 49 patients with light chain (LC) Fanconi syndrome (FS). Patients presented with chronic kidney disease (median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 33 ml/min/1.73 m2) and tubular proteinuria. All patients tested had elevated fractional excretion of phosphate, uric acid, generalized aminoaciduria and/or normoglycemic glycosuria. Thirty-eight patients had monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance and eleven patients had an overt hematological malignancy. The monoclonal LC isotype was kappa in 46/49 cases. Kidney biopsy in 39 patients showed various proximal tubular lesions and characteristic LC intracytoplasmic crystalline inclusions in 24 patients. Forty-two patients received chemotherapy. Patients with plasma cell proliferation (n=38) received bortezomib-based regimens (n=11), immunomodulatory agents (n=7) or alkylating agents (n=6). High-dose melphalan (HDM) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation was performed in 14 patients. Hematological response was obtained in 90% of evaluable patients, assessed on serum free light chains (FLC). GFR remained stable as long as hematological response was maintained and declined when serum FLC level rebounded. Improvement in proximal tubule function occurred in 13 patients. In patients with LC-associated FS, chemotherapy using HDM and/or new generation anti-myeloma agents can stabilize renal function and improve proximal tubule function. Serum FLC should be used to assess the hematological response, related to renal outcome.

EGR2 mutations define a new clinically aggressive subgroup of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Recurrent mutations within EGR2 were recently reported in advanced-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients and associated with a worse outcome. To study their prognostic impact, 2403 CLL patients were examined for mutations in the EGR2 hotspot region including a screening (n=1283) and two validation cohorts (UK CLL4 trial patients, n=366; CLL Research Consortium (CRC) patients, n=490). Targeted deep-sequencing of 27 known/postulated CLL driver genes was also performed in 38 EGR2-mutated patients to assess concurrent mutations. EGR2 mutations were detected in 91/2403 (3.8%) investigated cases, and associated with younger age at diagnosis, advanced clinical stage, high CD38 expression and unmutated IGHV genes. EGR2-mutated patients frequently carried ATM lesions (42%), TP53 aberrations (18%) and NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutations (16%). EGR2 mutations independently predicted shorter time-to-first-treatment (TTFT) and overall survival (OS) in the screening cohort; they were confirmed associated with reduced TTFT and OS in the CRC cohort and independently predicted short OS from randomization in the UK CLL4 cohort. A particularly dismal outcome was observed among EGR2-mutated patients who also carried TP53 aberrations. In summary, EGR2 mutations were independently associated with an unfavorable prognosis, comparable to CLL patients carrying TP53 aberrations, suggesting that EGR2-mutated patients represent a new patient subgroup with very poor outcome.