Gastrointestinal Plasmacytomas: A Rare Finding With Important Consequences

TO THE EDITOR:
Multiple myeloma patients can develop gastrointestinal plasmacytomas due to an extramedullary accumulation of plasma cells. However, solitary extramedullary plasmacytomas have been identified in patients without evidence of a systemic myeloma. From a database of 420 patients diagnosed between 1985 and 2005 in our center, 7 patients were identified with a gastrointestinal plasmacytoma (Table 1). In 2 patients, this was seen in the course of multiple myeloma, and in 5 patients, a solitary plasmacytoma was found.
The two multiple myeloma patients had previously been treated with radiotherapy and melphalan/prednisone and one had received thalidomide. One patient presented with [...]