Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia is a cancer of white blood cells known as B lymphoctyes. It results in the excessive secretion in the plasma of immunoglobulin M (IgM), an antibody (protein) that helps the body fight infections. IgM is a monoclonal antibody, which means it is derived from one type of cell.
B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside bones. Most B lymphocytes remain in the lymph nodes (tiny bean shaped organs of the immune system located throughout the body), but around 20 percent circulate in the blood. These cells eventually develop into plasma cells, but they can transform into cancer cells at any time.
When this transformation happens in the last stage before a B lymphoctye becomes a fully developed plasma cell, the cancer that results is Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. The disease is named for Jan Waldenstrom, a Swedish hematologist who first described the disease in 1944.
WM is a rare, slow-growing and chronic (long-lasting) disease. It is treatable, but there is no known cure for this disease. There are anywhere from 4,000 to 8,600 people currently living with WM in the United States. The average age of patients is 65, but the disease can occur in people as young as 18.
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