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Multiple Myeloma Mimicking Bone Metastasis: The Contribution of Biochemistry Laboratory to Differential Diagnosis

Received: 1 June 2023    Accepted: 28 June 2023    Published: 28 October 2023
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Abstract

Breast carcinoma is a tumor that tends to metastasize to various organs. The hasty diagnosis of metastasis in patients treated for breast carcinoma who report symptoms for another malignant tumor, may be the cause of diagnostic and therapeutic delay. We report the case of a patient with breast ductal carcinoma, having completed her therapeutic protocol, she came in 3 years later with severe bone pain, epistaxis and headache in a context of asthenia and anorexia, suggesting a relapse of her breast cancer with bone metastasis. On clinical examination, the patient presented with cutaneous and mucosal pallor. She had no other signs of secondary localization, the performance of electrophoresis and immunofixation of serum proteins, led to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. This observation highlights the diagnostic difficulty that can arise in patients treated for breast carcinoma who present with a malignant hemopathy mimicking a metastasis of the initial cancer, or other cases where the multiple myeloma is synchronous with other malignancies. This clinical similarity may delay treatment and worsen the patient's condition. This situation can be avoided by the simple performance of protein electrophoresis, which is a relevant method of diagnosis and follow-up of monoclonal gammopathies thanks to the efficient separation of serum proteins and quantification of monoclonal peaks.

Published in International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11
Page(s) 50-53
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Multiple Myeloma, Breast Carcinoma, Serum Protein Electrophoresis, Immunofixation

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Harrar, S., Raissi, A., Bouchehboun, A., Mhirig, I., Chellak, S., et al. (2023). Multiple Myeloma Mimicking Bone Metastasis: The Contribution of Biochemistry Laboratory to Differential Diagnosis . International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 11(4), 50-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11

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    ACS Style

    Harrar, S.; Raissi, A.; Bouchehboun, A.; Mhirig, I.; Chellak, S., et al. Multiple Myeloma Mimicking Bone Metastasis: The Contribution of Biochemistry Laboratory to Differential Diagnosis . Int. J. Biomed. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(4), 50-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11

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    AMA Style

    Harrar S, Raissi A, Bouchehboun A, Mhirig I, Chellak S, et al. Multiple Myeloma Mimicking Bone Metastasis: The Contribution of Biochemistry Laboratory to Differential Diagnosis . Int J Biomed Sci Eng. 2023;11(4):50-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11,
      author = {Sara Harrar and Abderrahim Raissi and Ayoub Bouchehboun and Ibtissam Mhirig and Saliha Chellak and Abderrahman Boukhira},
      title = {Multiple Myeloma Mimicking Bone Metastasis: The Contribution of Biochemistry Laboratory to Differential Diagnosis
    
    	
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering},
      volume = {11},
      number = {4},
      pages = {50-53},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20231104.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijbse.20231104.11},
      abstract = {Breast carcinoma is a tumor that tends to metastasize to various organs. The hasty diagnosis of metastasis in patients treated for breast carcinoma who report symptoms for another malignant tumor, may be the cause of diagnostic and therapeutic delay. We report the case of a patient with breast ductal carcinoma, having completed her therapeutic protocol, she came in 3 years later with severe bone pain, epistaxis and headache in a context of asthenia and anorexia, suggesting a relapse of her breast cancer with bone metastasis. On clinical examination, the patient presented with cutaneous and mucosal pallor. She had no other signs of secondary localization, the performance of electrophoresis and immunofixation of serum proteins, led to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. This observation highlights the diagnostic difficulty that can arise in patients treated for breast carcinoma who present with a malignant hemopathy mimicking a metastasis of the initial cancer, or other cases where the multiple myeloma is synchronous with other malignancies. This clinical similarity may delay treatment and worsen the patient's condition. This situation can be avoided by the simple performance of protein electrophoresis, which is a relevant method of diagnosis and follow-up of monoclonal gammopathies thanks to the efficient separation of serum proteins and quantification of monoclonal peaks.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Sara Harrar
    AU  - Abderrahim Raissi
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    JF  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
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    AB  - Breast carcinoma is a tumor that tends to metastasize to various organs. The hasty diagnosis of metastasis in patients treated for breast carcinoma who report symptoms for another malignant tumor, may be the cause of diagnostic and therapeutic delay. We report the case of a patient with breast ductal carcinoma, having completed her therapeutic protocol, she came in 3 years later with severe bone pain, epistaxis and headache in a context of asthenia and anorexia, suggesting a relapse of her breast cancer with bone metastasis. On clinical examination, the patient presented with cutaneous and mucosal pallor. She had no other signs of secondary localization, the performance of electrophoresis and immunofixation of serum proteins, led to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. This observation highlights the diagnostic difficulty that can arise in patients treated for breast carcinoma who present with a malignant hemopathy mimicking a metastasis of the initial cancer, or other cases where the multiple myeloma is synchronous with other malignancies. This clinical similarity may delay treatment and worsen the patient's condition. This situation can be avoided by the simple performance of protein electrophoresis, which is a relevant method of diagnosis and follow-up of monoclonal gammopathies thanks to the efficient separation of serum proteins and quantification of monoclonal peaks.
    
    VL  - 11
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Author Information
  • Clinical Biochemistry and Toxicology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Clinical Hematology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Clinical Biochemistry and Toxicology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Clinical Biochemistry and Toxicology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Clinical Biochemistry and Toxicology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Clinical Biochemistry and Toxicology Department, Avicenne Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

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