Sialyl salivary-type amylasemia associated with immunoglobulin D-type multiple myeloma.

In 1988, Hata et al. [1] reported a case of ectopic production of salivary-type amylase by an IgA-type multiple myeloma. Subsequently, seven cases of amylaseproducing multiple myeloma have been reported [2-8]. According to Delannoy et al. [7], amylase-producing myeloma should be added to the list of amylaseproducing tumors. In 1991, we reported a neuraminidase sensitive, so-called sialyl, salivary-type amylase identified in the sera of patients with IgA-type myeloma [9]. The amylase showed an abnormal anodic migration in isoamylase electrophoretic analysis and we discussed the possibility that the amylase was being produced ectopically from myeloma cells [9]. Sialyl amylase associated with a tumor was first reported in the serum of the patient with pancreatic cancer by Sudo and Kanno [10] in 1975. Here, we describe the first case of sialyl salivary-type amylasemia associated with IgD-type multiple myeloma, which was found by retrospective observation of routine amylase zymogram.