Multiple myeloma in Ethiopians: analysis of 22 cases

Twenty-two cases of multiple myeloma were seen in the Department of Internal Medicine, Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Hospital, a teaching and referral hospital in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, from January 1983 to December 1990. The age range was 38 to 76 (mean +/- SD = 51.5 +/- 12.2) years; a third were in the fifth decade. The male:female ratio was 1.75:1. The common clinical findings were bone pain in 20 (91%), bone tenderness in 15 (68%), anaemia in 14 (64%) and spinal cord compression in 8 (36%). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was raised in 21. Serum protein was raised in 17 (77%) and hyperglobulinaemia was seen in 20 (91%). Serum uric acid, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and calcium were elevated in 10, 8 and 5 patients respectively, Bence-Jones proteinuria and albuminuria were each found in 9 patients. All patients had radiological abnormalities; 9 had a combination of lytic lesions, osteoporosis and pathological fractures (41%). Ten patients presented in clinical stage III. Four patients are being followed after 3-84 (median 40.5) months; eight were lost to follow-up 1-8 (median 2.0) months after diagnosis. Ten patients have died after 1-55 (median 11) months. Multiple myeloma is not uncommon in Ethiopians. Except for a lower age at presentation, the clinical, haematological, biochemical, and radiological findings, and the response to therapy, are similar to those reported elsewhere.