Bone Marrow Morphology and Immunology in Systemic Amyloidosis

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Abstract
Bone marrow specimens from 45 patients presenting with signs and symptoms of systemic amyloidosis were studied to assess the degree and pattern of plasmacytosis and its clonality, using immunohistologic technics. Twenty-four of 35 patients with primary amyloidosis had monoclonal plasma cells, while 11 had polyclonal plasma cells. Five patients with secondary amyloidosis and five with familial amyloidosis had a mild polyclonal plasmacytosis. The authors’ data suggest that there may be two subgroups of patients with primary amyloidosis: those with monoclonal plasmacytosis representing part of the spectrum of plasma cell dyscrasias, and those in which a monoclonal plasmacytosis cannot be documented. Immunohistologic staining of bone marrows in patients with amyloidosis may be of future value in characterizing subtypes of amyloidosis and evaluating their relationship to multiple myeloma.