Solitary plasmacytoma of bone and extramedullary plasmacytoma

Solitary plasmacytoma of bone occurs in about 5% of patients with plasma cell myeloma. Modern techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging and the search for monoclonal plasma cells in morphologically normal bone marrow, may allow the identification of patients with truly localized disease. Radiotherapy at a dose of 4500 cGy usually eradicates the tumor and is associated with prolonged disease-free survival in many patients. Extramedullary plasmacytoma is less common than solitary plasmacytoma of bone and more frequently occurs in the head and neck area. Radiotherapy is associated with a very high local control rate, and less than 30% of patients develop a distant relapse. The prognosis of extramedullary plasmacytoma is better than that of solitary bone plasmacytoma.