[Uncommon combination of multiple myeloma in three patients]

The authors describe uncommon combinations of multiple myeloma in three men aged 83, 63 and 55 years. In patient no. 1 both diseases--pernicious anaemia and multiple myeloma IgG-kappa were detected simultaneously. In patient no. 2 Crohn's disease preceded multiple myeloma IgA-lambda by more than 30 years. In patient no. 3 Gaucher's disease preceded multiple myeloma with paraproteinaemia IgA-lambda and IgG-kappa by more than 10 years. The diagnosis was facilitated by examination of the bone marrow, immunochemical examination of serum and urine and X-ray examination of the skeleton. In all patients the development of the myeloma had an adverse effect on the general course of the disease and despite treatment it soon proved fatal. In the discussion views on the possible causal associations between these diseases are discussed.