Plasma cell leukemia (PCL), a rare and aggressive variant of myeloma, is characterized by the presence of circulating plasma cells. It is classified as either:

• primary PCL occurring at diagnosis, or
• secondary PCL in patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma.

This study reviews diagnosis and treatment recommendations for PCL. It concludes that “prospective multicenter studies are required to provide revised definitions and better understanding of the pathogenesis of PCL.”

Authors:

C Fernandez de Larrea, RA Kyle, BGM Durie, H Ludwig, S Usmani, DH Vesole, R Hajek, JF San Miguel, O Sezer, P Sonneveld, SK Kumar, A Mahindra, R Comenzo, A Palumbo, A Mazumber, KC Anderson, PG Richardson, AZ Badros, J Caers, M Cavo, X LeLeu, MA Dimopoulos, CS Chim, R Schots, A Noeul, D Fantl, U-H Mellqvist, O Landgren, A Chanan-Khan, P Moreau, R Fonseca, G Merlini, JJ Lahuerta, J Blade, RZ Orlowski and JJ Shah on behalf of the International Myeloma Working Group

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