Solitary plasmacytoma of the jaw

Abstract

Solitary plasmacytoma may be considered as a rare neoplasm of head and neck and is a different disease compared to multiple myeloma. The main difference is related to the better clinical prognosis of solitary plasmacytoma, which may be clinically silent for several years but several local recurrences may be possible once diagnosed and treated. Clinical signs and symptoms of solitary plasmacytoma are related to bone pain and possible bone fractures. Partial local impairment of local bone function may be present. Bone swelling and local involvement of mucosa and local soft tissue may be revealed. Systemic findings related to the production of monoclonal protein are usually not present and a monoclonal spike in serum electrophoresis may be absent as the monoclonal Bence-Jones protein in the urine. Other systemic dysfunctions as systemic bone marrow involvement with related anemia and absent thrombocytopenia. However, although very rare, solitary plasmacytoma of the jaw may have several clinical presentations and here we review clinical differences reported in the literature.