Nagano Seiji, Mori Minako, Kato Aiko, Ono Yuichiro, Aoki Kazunari, Arima Hiroshi, Takiuchi Yoko, Tabata Sumie, Yanagita Soshi, Matsushita Akiko, Ishikawa Takayuki, Imai Hiroyuki, Takahashi Takayuki
Departments of Hematology and Clinical Immunology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Japan.
Intern Med. 2013;52(10):1101-5. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.52.8615. Epub 2013 May 15.
A 74-year-old woman with refractory IgG-κ multiple myeloma developed massive melena caused by hemorrhagic submucosal tumors in the duodenum and middle jejunum. A biopsy revealed the tumor to be marked AL amyloid deposition. Treatment with bortezomib did not improve the melena or the underlying disease. The patient also developed multiple amyloidomas in the bilateral femoral heads, which caused a fracture in the left femoral head. Treatment with lenalidomide, as the final therapeutic option, resolved the intractable melena and improved both the intestinal lesions and myeloma. This case shows that successful treatment of multiple myeloma leads to marked improvement of accompanying AL amyloidosis.