The association of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and multiple myeloma: a study of eleven patients

Abstract

Hematological and immunological data obtained in 11 patients with the rare association of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM) was presented. CLL occurred before MM in 6 cases and both diseases were diagnosed simultaneously in 5. With regard to CLL, no peculiar clinical feature was found; in 6 patients. MM was characterized by extra-osseous lesions. A significant remission (3-7 yr) was obtained in 3 patients. In 6 patients, CLL and plasma cells synthesized Ig molecules with different light chains, probably indicating the coexistence of 2 distinct clonal proliferations. In 2 cases where monoclonal Ig synthesized by both types of cells had the same type of L chains, studies with anti-idiotypic antibodies showed that the 2 proliferations were also distinct. The pathophysiology of this rare association is discussed in the light of these findings and of data from the literature.