Waldenström macroglobulinemia

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Waldenström macroglobulinemia ( VAL-dən-strom MAK-roh-GLOB-yə-lin-EE-mee-ə, US also VAHL-dən-strem -⁠) is a type of cancer affecting two types of white blood cells: lymphoplasmacytoid cells and plasma cells (both B cells). It is characterized by having high levels of a circulating antibody, immunoglobulin M (IgM), which is made and secreted by the cells involved in the disease. Waldenström macroglobulinemia is an "indolent lymphoma" (i.e., one that tends to grow and spread slowly) and a type of lymphoproliferative disease that shares clinical characteristics with the indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas. It is commonly classified as a form of plasma cell dyscrasia, similar to other plasma cell dyscrasias that, for example, lead to multiple myeloma. Waldenström macroglobulinemia is commonly preceded by two clinically asymptomatic but progressively more pre-malignant phases, IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and smoldering Waldenström macroglobulinemia. The Waldenström macroglobulinemia...

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