Extramedullary plasmacytoma presenting as a nasal mass in an immunosuppressed patient: treatment after failed primary radiotherapy.

Most of the recent evidence suggests that extramedullary plasmacytoma should be treated initially with radiation, as response rates have exceeded 90% in many studies. Surgery is not considered a primary treatment modality for such tumors. We report the case of a chronically immunosuppressed 43-year-old man with bilateral extramedullary plasmacytomas of the nasal cavities. The right-sided mass was surgically excised, while the left-sided mass was initially treated with radiation. However, the left mass proved to be radioresistant, and it was subsequently excised surgically The patient showed no evidence of recurrence of either mass at 42 months of follow-up. We believe that the particulars of this case, combined with the results of some recent studies, provide good evidence that surgery should be considered in the treatment of certain cases of extramedullary plasmacytoma.