Prevalence of autoimmune conditions in patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia: Exploratory analysis of a series of consecutive patients.

Abstract

e19514 Background: Literature suggests association between Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and autoimmune conditions which may share the same pathogenesis. We identified the prevalence of autoimmune phenomena in WM patients and compared it with the general population. Methods: We conducted retrospective and prospective analyses in a series of patients (n=12) with WM followed in outpatient setting. The median age was 74 years. The charts were reviewed for autoimmune abnormalities; length of prospective analysis segment was circa 24 months. The prevalence of autoimmune disorders was compared with the general population. Statistical analysis: Findings were tested for statistical significance using Fisher’s exact test for small number of observations (95% confidence); p value < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Circa 58.3% patients had autoimmune disorders (Table). These include Hashimoto thyroiditis, pernicious anemia, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), pure red cell aplasia (PRCA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), temporal arteritis, and ANA positivity. The Table summarizes the statistical analysis of each autoimmune condition with their respective p values. Conclusions: More than 50% of patients had autoimmune conditions, significantly exceeding overall prevalence in general population. Statistically significant differences noted for pernicious anemia, Hashimoto thyroiditis, ITP, AIHA, CIDP, PRCA, and temporal arteritis. The difference was not significant for PMR and ANA positivity. However, analysis of larger cohorts is needed to confirm our observations. [Table: see text]