Monoclonal Gammopathy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of its Literature

Abstract

AbstractThe presence of monoclonal gammopathies in B-cell malignancies occurs frequently. Monoclonal proteins are present in a significant number of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which is a disorder of antigen-stimulated mature B-cells. The recognition of monoclonal proteins or light chains in the serum and/or urine is increased in the majority of CLL patients with the use of highly sensitive laboratory methods such as serum immunofixation studies. A different autoimmune phenomenon may explain the presence of some of these monoclonal proteins. Some reports indicate that the finding of monoclonal proteins has a negative impact on patients' survival. However, there is no clear evidence to suggest the prognostic significance of monoclonal proteins in patients with CLL. Although the presence of monoclonal proteins in CLL occurs usually at an incidence of 60%–80%, there are very few cases reported in literature. We report a case of CLL diagnosed in 2009 who developed disease progression along with the presence of immunoglobulin kappa monoclonal gammopathy. Although the presence of monoclonal gammopathy might be due to the use of highly sensitive methods, this can be due to autoimmune phenomenon or development from the same or different clone of B-cells.