A case of 'acute' Waldenström macroglobulinaemia

A patient with histologically confirmed malignant lymphoma of the non-Hodgkin type with lymphoplasmacellular hyperplasia showed clinical symptoms of Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. A rapid and important increase was observed in the level of IgM lambda paraprotein possessing both cryo- and pyroprecipitative properties. This rise in paraprotein concentration was accompanied by a severe haemorrhagic syndrome. The course of disease was rapid; only six weeks passed from observing the first clinical symptoms to the death of the patient. The failure of combined cytostatic treatment allowed to conclude that the case was one of 'acute' Waldenström macroglobulinaemia.