Gammopatie monoclonali: quadri clinici principali e ruolo del laboratorio

AUTORI

ABSTRACT

Monoclonal gammopathies: main clinical pictures and role of the clinical laboratory

The finding of a monoclonal gammopathy both by chance and upon clinical suspicion is becoming more and more frequent and requires in-depth clinical, laboratory and instrumental analyses in order to establish the underlying disease, if any. In the last two decades the improvement of the diagnostic tools has led to the identification and precise definition of several clinical entities pathogenetically linked to the monoclonal gammopathy, thus shrinking the field of the “monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance”. Such a striking improvement relies on the increasing sensitivity and accuracy of old analyses and availability of new ones (such as the serum Free Light Chain assay). Currently, data from the clinical biochemistry laboratory provide important clues to the diagnosis and prognosis, and are also crucial for monitoring the therapy. These new achievements, along with the availability of new therapeutic options, allowed a significant, sometimes dramatic improvement of the prognosis of many of the gammopathy-related diseases. In this review the main clinical pictures are described along with the contribution of the clinical biochemistry laboratory to the definition of the diagnosis, the risk profile and the monitoring of the specific diseases.

BIBLIOGRAFIA