Head and Neck Solitary Extramedullary Plasmacytoma

Abstract

A brief review of the salient literature is presented in regard to extramedullary plasmacytoma. The relevant clinical features, pathology, a n d methods of treatment are discussed. The eight cases seen by the authors are reviewed and their followup progress noted. The authors discuss a few interesting facets of extramedullary plasmacytoma.

Extramedullary plasmacytoma: rare neoplasm of parotid gland

“…But in general, survival of EMP is always better than bone plasmacytoma 11. In a review of 721 EMP cases by Alexiou et al , around 65% of patients had no recurrence and did not progress to MM, whereas 22% experienced recurrence, and 15% of cases evolved into MM 7. In another case series of 18 patients from Mayo Clinic showed that all EMP of the head and neck treated, median OS was 12.5 years with 5-year and 10-year survival rates of 88% and 55%, respectively, six patients developed MM or plasmacytoma at a distant site 12.…”

“…We know radiation plays a major role in the management of EMP; however, surgery can be used as an alternative in few selected cases 4–6. Radical excision is often not possible in most of the cases because of the large tumour size, involvement of surrounding structures and poor cosmetic results with surgery 7. An interesting question therefore arises: after surgery, do we really need adjuvant radiation for local control?…”

Extramedullary Solitary Plasmacytoma with Anaplastic Features of the Nasopharynx

“…Sasaki et al treated 67 patients with RT alone, and the 5-year and 10-year local control rates were 95% and 87%, respectively [ 14 ]. Another study revealed a 10-year local control of 88.9% with radiation alone [ 15 ]. The average dose of radiation should be at least 40–50 Gy given over 20–25 fractions.…”