A review for solitary plasmacytoma of bone and extramedullary plasmacytoma

Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) is characterized by a mass of neoplastic monoclonal plasma cells in either bone (SBP) or soft tissue without evidence of systemic disease attributing to myeloma. Biopsy confirmation of a monoclonal plasma cell infiltration from a single site is required for diagnosis. The common presentation of SBP is in the axial skeleton, whereas the extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is usually seen in the head and neck. The ratio of SP seen at males to females is 2 : 1 and the median age of patients is 55 years. The incidence rate of SP in black race is approximately 30% higher than the white race. Incidence rate increases exponentially by advancing age. SBP has a significant higher risk for progression to myeloma, and the choice of treatment is radiotherapy (RT) that is applied with curative intent at min. 4000 cGy. By only RT application, long-term disease-free survival (DFS) is possible for approximately 30% of patients with SBP and 65% of patients with EMP.