AL (amyloid light-chain) amyloidosis is an uncommon plasma cell disorder in which depositions of amyloid light-chain protein cause progressive organ failure and death in a median of 13 months. ...Autologous stem-cell transplantation is effective therapy for multiple myeloma and therefore, we evaluated its efficacy for AL amyloidosis. Patients with adequate cardiac, pulmonary, and renal function had stem cells mobilized with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and were treated with dose-intensive intravenous melphalan (200 mg/m2). Response to therapy was determined by survival and improvement of performance status, complete response or persistence of the clonal plasma cell disorder, and change in the function of organs involved with amyloid at baseline. We enrolled 25 patients with a median age of 48 years (range, 29-60), all of whom had biopsy-proven amyloidosis with clonal plasma cell disorders. Twenty-two (88%) were Southwest Oncology Group performance status 1 or 2 within a year of diagnosis, and 16 (64%) had received no prior therapy. Predominant amyloid-related organ involvement was cardiac (n = 8), renal (n = 7), hepatic (n = 6), neuropathic (n = 3), and lymphatic (n = 1). Fifteen patients had one or two organ systems involved, whereas 10 had three or more involved. With a median follow-up of 24 months (12-38), 17 of 25 patients (68%) are alive, and the median survival has not been reached. Thirteen of 21 patients (62%) evaluated 3 months posttransplant had complete responses of their clonal plasma cell disorders. Currently, two thirds of the surviving patients (11 of 17) have experienced improvements of amyloid-related organ involvement in all systems, whereas 4 of 17 have stable disease. The improvement in the median performance status of the 17 survivors at follow-up (0 range, 0-3) is statistically significant versus baseline (2 range, 1-3; P < .01). Significant negative prognostic factors with respect to overall survival include amyloid involvement of more than two major organ systems and predominant cardiac involvement. Three patients have experienced relapses of the clonal plasma cell disorder at 12 and 24 months. Dose-intensive therapy should currently be considered as the preferred therapy for patients with AL amyloidosis who meet functional criteria for autologous transplantation.
AL amyloidosis presenting as a solitary mediastinal mass is a rare occurrence, with only a few cases reported in the literature. We describe a case of a man presenting with a mediastinal mass ...diagnosed as amyloidosis, confirmed by mass spectrometry to consist of lambda light chains. Here we review the literature and discuss treatment options for this rare entity.
Thalidomide is an effective therapy for multiple myeloma, although its mechanisms of action remain unclear. Light chain–associated (AL) amyloidosis is a plasma cell disorder related to multiple ...myeloma, but in AL amyloidosis, fibrillar tissue deposits of clonal immunoglobulin light chains produce organ dysfunction. To test the toxicity and efficacy of thalidomide in AL amyloidosis we initiated a phase I/II trial for patients with AL amyloidosis, most of whom had failed prior therapy with high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation. This trial was designed as an individualized 6-month dose-escalation study with reevaluation of bone marrow plasmacytosis and serum and urine monoclonal proteins after 3 and 6 months. Sixteen patients were enrolled in the study with a median age of 62 years (range, 37–70 years). Fourteen patients had renal involvement, 4 had cardiac involvement, 4 had liver involvement, and 2 had predominant soft tissue or lymph node involvement. The median maximum tolerated dose was 300 mg, with fatigue and other central nervous system side effects being the major doselimiting toxicities. Side effects not frequently reported for other patient populations included exacerbation of peripheral and pulmonary edema and worsening azotemia. In all, 50% of patients experienced grade 3/4 toxicity, and 25% had to discontinue the study drug. No complete hematologic responses were seen, but 25% of patients had a significant reduction in Bence-Jones proteinuria. Thus, while thalidomide has activity in AL amyloidosis, it also has significant toxicity in this patient population.
We report on a 58-year-old man who presented with simultaneous kappa-restricted chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and a lambda-restricted plasma cell dyscrasia causing AL amyloidosis involving the ...kidney and GI tract. While monoclonal immunoglobulins occasionally produced by CLL has previously been implicated in AL amyloidosis, this is the first case of AL amyloidosis resulting from a distinct plasma cell dyscrasia that is not clonally related to the concurrent CLL. Appropriate treatment depended on detailed pathologic diagnosis of both disease processes.
A 41-year-old woman with immunoglobulin light chain (AL) systemic amyloidosis with cardiac and gastrointestinal involvement developed multiple arterial and venous thromboembolic complications. ...Treatment with unfractionated heparin was complicated by life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding. Work up for hereditary thrombophilia was unrevealing. Treatment with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone combination regimen led to hematologic response without further thromboembolic complications. While thromboembolic complications have been reported in AL amyloidosis and cardiac involvement, this unique case highlights the complexity of the disease, the various pathogenic mechanisms at play and the difficult management decisions necessary in caring for these complex patients. A literature review of thrombembolic complications in patients with amyloidosis is presented.
In AL (amyloid light-chain) amyloidosis, the greatest risk of death occurs in patients with cardiac involvement, who typically develop diastolic dysfunction and then systolic heart failure, with ...predisposition to arrhythmias and sudden death. Here, we present an alternate variation of cardiac amyloidosis. This patient had recent non-obstructive coronary angiography, yet suffered a fatal myocardial infarction shortly after stem cell collection and mobilization in preparation for treatment with high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDM/SCT). On autopsy, widespread deposition of amyloid was found in the small vessels of the heart with evidence of associated acute infarction. While the typical presentation of cardiac amyloidosis is an infiltrating restrictive cardiomyopathy, this case report and literature review illustrate that ischemic small vessel amyloidosis may also occur. Small vessel coronary disease and associated myocardial ischemia should be considered in patients with AL amyloidosis with angina, as its presence may increase treatment-related complications. Contemporary testing should aim to detect both forms of cardiac amyloidosis, which may impact management and prognosis.
AL amyloidosis and transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis are the most frequent forms of systemic amyloidosis diagnosed in the United States. Macroglossia is considered to be a pathognomonic feature of AL ...amyloidosis. We report on two cases of systemic amyloidosis with macroglossia that defied routine clinical diagnosis, in which the deposits were typed as ATTR in one case and AL in the other using immunoelectron microscopy. These cases highlight: (1) the difficulty of typing amyloidosis on clinical criteria alone; (2) the utility of immunoelectron microscopy and (3) that macroglossia, while occurring much more frequently in AL, can also accompany ATTR amyloidosis.
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