Extramedullary gastric plasmacytoma.

This report describes a case of gastric plasmacytoma which was diagnosed following an episode of haematemesis and melaena. The patient had a previous orbital plasmacytoma and subsequently developed aggressive disseminated disease with extensive skin and subcutaneous deposits but without marked marrow involvement until the terminal phase. Following the episode of haematemesis and melaena, endoscopy revealed two gastric ulcers and histological examination showed extensive infiltration ofthe gastric mucosa by a monoclonal population of plasma cells. Gastric plasmacytoma is a rarely described cause of haematemesis and melaena and should be suspected in a patient with a history of plasmacytoma or multiple myeloma. The extensive extramedullary disease in the absence of marked marrow involvement is unusual in the spectrum of plasma cell dyscrasia.