PRIMARY PLASMACYTOMA OF LYMPH NODES

Abstract

Solitary plasmacytomas may occur in a variety of organs and tissues, including the conjunctivae, paranasal sinuses and upper respiratory tract, tonsils, stomach, small bowel, kidney, ovaries, lung, and elsewhere. More commonly, however, solitary plasmacytomas have been described as originating in bone, although multiple myeloma subsequently appears in most of these patients. Four cases of plasmacytoma arising in lymph nodes have been reported (1-4), in which there was no abnormality of the bone marrow or of the serum proteins, or other evidence of systemic dissemination. Especially interesting is the relationship of so-called "solitary" plasmacytomas to multiple myeloma, since some solitary plasmacytomas progress, after months or years, to a clinical picture indistinguishable from multiple myeloma (5).
We report two patients who presented with solitary plasmacytomas arising in cervical lymph nodes. After no other foci of disease could be found, the local lesion was widely resected. Results of treatment of solitary plasmacytomas of lymph nodes and the relationship of this lesion to multiple myeloma are discussed.