Chromosomal aberrations common to three types of monoclonal gammopathies.

By ELSIE \V. HOUSTON, STEPHAN E. RITZMANN AND WILLIAM C. LEVIN B OTTURA ET AL.’ and German et al.,2 in 1961, described a unique chromosomal abnormality in a patient with primary macroglobulinemia (Waldenstr#{246}m ). Similar findings have subsequently been reported in 11 patients.3’9 Two types of abnormal chromosomes have been recognized: a metacentric larger than any other in the cell2 and a submetacentric or subterminaP in the AB size range or larger. In patients with myeloma, only scanty evidence of chromosomal abnormalities has been published. Bottura,’#{176} Castoldi et al.,” and Lewis et al.12” have described inconsistent aberrations in five of nine patients studied. In none of these patients were the myeloma proteins characterized immunochemically. This report describes a study of 24 patients with monoclonal gammopathies (MG),14’15 7 with -yM-MG, 3 with yA-MG and 14 with yG-MG, with complete characterization of the abnormal proteins. The evidence obtained suggests that certain chromosomal abnormalities, some of which have been previously described in association with primary macroglobulinemia (Waldenstr#{246}m) and some not hitherto reported, are common to all three types of monoclonal gammopathies.