THE VALUE OF GENOTYPIC ANALYSIS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF CUTANEOUS PLASMACYTOMAS

We report a 79-year-old woman with primary cutaneous plasmacytoma in w hom polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to demonstrate the monocl onality of the tumour, Four years after presentation, further sl;in le sions occurred and PCR again showed evidence of monoclonality despite the histology being non-specific. The reported frequency of multiple p rimary cutaneous plasmacytoma is increasing, sind the mortality rate o f patients with multiple lesions is three times that of those with a s olitary lesion, PCR may be a useful technique for assessing such patie nts at presentation.