Multiple myeloma in sickle cell syndromes

Multiple myeloma (MM) is rare among patients with sickle cell syndromes (SC S). We describe six Greek sickle cell patients aged 56 to 65 years: five ha emoglobin S beta (+)thalassaemia (HbS beta (+)thal), one sickle cell anaemi a (HbSS), who developed MM (three IgGK, one IgG lambda, one IgAK, and one I gGK-IgAK (biclonal). Our HbS beta (+)thal cases, represent the first report ed association of this entity with MM. Generalized bleeding diathesis, stro ke, grand mal seizures, bone marrow necrosis and other clinical manifestati ons due to hyperviscosity aggravated by sickle cell vasoocclusion were trea ted by plasmaphereses and exchange blood transfusions. The increase of mean survival in SCS patients due to the current medical facilities may have an impact on the incidence of MM among them, if a pathogenetic link between t he two conditions exists. All our patients carried a diagnosis of cholelith iasis which may predispose to MM; two of them progressed from a monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to MM. Further studies are n eeded in order to understand the relationship between SCS and MM.