| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 60
| Issue : 4 | Page : 590-592 |
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Monoclonal gammopathy with double M-bands: An atypical presentation on serum protein electrophoresis simulating biclonal gammopathy
Kaustubh Bora1, Umesh Das2, Bhupen Barman3, Alice Abraham Ruram4
1 ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, North East Region, Dibrugarh, Assam; Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
2 Department of Medical Oncology, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
3 Department of Internal Medicine, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
4 Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Correspondence Address:
Kaustubh Bora
ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, North East Region, Dibrugarh - 786 010, Assam
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/IJPM.IJPM_311_17
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Monoclonal gammopathies, such as multiple myeloma, typically exhibit high levels of a monoclonal immunoglobulin (M-protein), produced by a clone of abnormally proliferating B-lymphocytes and/or plasma cells. The M-protein can be evaluated by serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP), which yields a single discrete band (M-band), usually in the γ-globulin region. Rarely, two M-bands appear simultaneously at different positions during SPEP – a condition known as biclonal gammopathy, which is a result of clonal expansion of two different neoplastic cell lines. Here, we describe an atypical case of IgA-λ multiple myeloma, where double M-bands (one in β- and the other in γ-globulin region) were found during SPEP simulating biclonal gammopathy, although it was monoclonal in nature. This peculiar presentation of double M-bands in monoclonal gammopathy was attributed to polymeric forms of IgA by systematic workup. Further, we discuss how true and apparent biclonality can be distinguished by inexpensive analytical techniques in resource-constrained settings.
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