Solitary plasmacytoma of the spine associated with neurological complications

We report eight patients with a solitary plasmacytoma of the spine associated with neurological complications. The patients included five men and three women with an average age at presentation of 59 years (range, 47 to 73 years). The tumour was confined to the thoracic spine in six cases, cervical spine in one and lumbar spine in one. Duration of symptoms ranged from 2.5 to 22 months. Treatment consisted of a combination of radiotherapy, melphalan and surgery. One patient progressed to multiple myeloma 7 years after surgery. Surgical treatment (anterior surgery in three cases and posterior surgery in five) produced neurological improvement in all patients. We stress the importance of an early diagnosis followed by appropriate treatment including surgery for this clinical entity and long-term follow-up to detect a disseminated disease.