[Development of gamma-heavy chain disease during the course of diabetic nephropathy]

We reported a rare case of gamma-heavy chain disease. A 63-year-old man had been given a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus at the age of 30 and had received hemodialysis since the age of 55. The patient presented with swollen lymph nodes in the neck. Lymph node biopsy findings suggested immunoblastic lymphadenopathy. The patient was admitted to Kitasato University hospital. Serum protein electrophoresis showed an increase of beta-fraction peak, and immunoelectrophoresis revealed an increase of gamma-heavy chain protein. Further studies of the gamma-heavy chain protein showed that it contained three different components and that the molecular weight of the main component was 34,000 Da. The patient died on the 11th day of hospitalization. The diagnosis at autopsy was unclassified malignant lymphoma.