Abstract
A patient is described in whom four phases of illness were recognized: (1) erythroleukemia, (2) brisk bone marrow plasmocytosis with Bence Jones protein in the urine suggesting multiple myeloma, (3) normality physically and of blood and bone marrow, with the exception of slight splenomegaly, (4) myeloblastic leukemia with death from Pseudomonas septicemia.
Local and reticuloendothelial plasmocytic reactions have been observed in experimental animals and in man with malignant disease, and this occurrence has been related to tumor inhibition and improved prognosis. Paraproteinemia and paraproteinuria have been noted in malignancies other than those arising from plasma cells or lymphocytes.
It is suggested that the plasmocytosis and abnormal protein in the case reported, as well as in other similar cases previously reported, may have represented an immune reaction induced by the malignancy and responsible for its remission.
