[Distinction between benign and malignant monoclonal gammopathies on the basis of bone marrow and serum studies]

Studies were performed on bone marrow and serum from 28 patients with clinically benign gammopathy and 41 patients with the malignant monoclonal form. In the bone marrow samples, the total number of plasma cells and the monoclonal fraction of these cells were determined by immunofluorescence. Serum samples were analyzed for monoclonal immunoglobulin components and for the total serum protein content. The data could be used for discriminant analysis. The variables had to be transformed and were included in the discriminant function in a stepwise procedure. The resulting function made possible a clear distinction between benign and malignant monoclonal gammopathies.