Episode 23 - Help I found a paraprotein | MGUS + The Spectrum of Plasma Cell Dyscrasias

11/12/24 • 31 min

Ordered something you shouldn’t have and accidentally found a paraprotein again? Shame on you, but now you have to do something with it. Maybe you were genuinely suspicious for myeloma. If incidentally discovered lab findings are leaving you smouldering, this is the episode for you!
Join Nick, Cale and Bashar as they chat about the spectrum of plasma cell dyscrasias, and cover the precursor conditions MGUS and Smouldering Myeloma.
Timestamps
2:53 - What is a paraprotein?
5:56 - The heavy chain component
9:40 - The spectrum of plasma cell disorders
10:12 - MGUS
11:33 - How common is MGUS?
15:24 - You've found a paraprotein - what next?
17:38 - IMWG MGUS Criteria
19:47 - Mayo Score for Risk Stratification
22:25 - Serum free light chain ratio
24:25 - Bence Jones proteins
26:21 - Smouldering myeloma
27:30 - IMWG Smouldering myeloma criteria
29:16 - Risk of progression to MM

Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

Previous Episode

Episode 22 - B is for B-Cell | Immunology 101

A is for Antibody. B is for B-cell. C is for Cryoglobul... wait no we’ve covered that already. If you struggle to tell your thymus from an isthmus, can’t see the humour in humoural immunity and think a bursa is just some fancy elbow cushion then THIS is the episode for you. Join the Bloody Minded Crew as they dust off their undergraduate immunology degrees, get back to the classroom and cover the foundations of the immune system in preparation for tackling our upcoming malignant diseases.
Timestamps
3:43 - The Immune System
4:50 - The Spleen
5:36 - The Thymus
6:19 - The Lymph Nodes
8:19 - The Innate Immune System
13:16 - The Adaptive Immune System
16:56 - VDJ recombination
21:21 - MHC/HLA
24:54 - Antibodies!
27:42 - Class switching
28:58 - The purpose of Plasma Cells
30:33 - An immune response - start to finish

Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

Next Episode

Episode 24 - Blue Fried Eggs | Intro to Multiple Myeloma

==
I do not like blue eggs and ham,
I do not like them, Sam I Am.
They crowd and clump, they grow too fast,
Causing troubles that can last.
They make my bones feel weak and sore,
And through my kidneys they gnaw!
I do not like blue eggs, you see,
They're signs of something wrong with me.
==
Timestamps
3:35 - Recap of MGUS + smouldering myeloma
4:42 - Clinical case - Mr. Peter Rotein
8:15 - What is rouleaux?
10:30 - Bone marrow biopsies - what, how, how much ow?
15:29 - Multiple myeloma
16:41 - CRAB Criteria
18:26 - SLiM Criteria
19:24 - Clinical presentations of myeloma
21:48 - Plasmacytomas
22:56 - Causes of myeloma?
24:45 - Prognosis