Simple headache revealed a rare lymphoma: Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia with unique markers: a case report and review of the literature

Background Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare lymphoma with an incidence rate of 3 per million people per year, with approximately 1000 to 1500 new cases diagnosed each year in the USA. It is primarily seen in Caucasian males with a median age of 70 years old. Patients are most often asymptomatic, but WM can manifest itself with constitutional symptoms such as lethargy, bleeding, organomegaly, and neurological or fundoscopic abnormalities. WM is characterized by immunoglobulin M (IgM) monoclonal gammopathy, lymphocytic infiltration of bone marrow, and normocytic anemia due to bone marrow replacement. Case presentation Our patient is a Hispanic 67-year-old female that presents with one month of intermittent band-like bilateral headache accompanied by dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, and blurred vision. A thorough diagnostic workup was performed, including serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) with serum immunofixation (SIFE) showing an M spike and IgM kappa. Bone marrow biopsy was significant for lymphoplasmacytic infiltration with nodular B cells (CD19+, CD20+, CD22+). Computerized Tomography (CT) imaging showed splenomegaly in the patient. Treatment was provided for hyperviscosity syndrome with plasmapheresis twice. The patient reported improvement of her symptoms and was then scheduled for chemotherapy. Throughout 7 months, our patient received multiple cycles of bortezomib, dexamethasone, and rituximab. While her symptoms improved her psychiatric status got progressively worse. Conclusion It is important not to neglect symptoms such as a headache, which may seem small, but could serve as a clue in the diagnosis of Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.