CD38 - Negative Anaplastic Plasma Cell Myeloma: A Rare Case Report

CD38 is a glycoprotein that is highly and uniformly expressed in plasma cells in multiple myeloma. A panel of CD38 and CD138/CD19/CD45/CD56/CD117 markers is considered the immunophenotypic diagnosis of plasma cell myeloma. Expression of the CD38 marker may fade or weaken compared with the CD138 marker in plasma cells after chemotherapy treatment. Herein we present a rare case of CD38-negative multiple myeloma that was initially misdiagnosed as acute leukemia.