Lack of Awareness in Managment and Monitoring of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) in Patients aged 60 years and more in Primary Health Care: Short Communication

Abstract

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) presents a rare premalignant clonal plasma cell disorder, characterized by the presence of a monoclonal (M) protein, less than 10% of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and absence of multiple myeloma or related lymphoplasmacytic malignancies [1,2]. It is associated with a rate of progression to multiple myeloma or a related malignant condition of 1 percent per year or less [3]. The prevalence of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance among persons 50 years of age or older has not been accurately determined [4]. In previous studies, the frequency of monoclonal immunoglobulins in serum from a normal population has been reported to be 0.5 to 3.6 percent among patients seen in community practice, and usually it was the coincidental finding of MGUS [5-7]. Previous reports expected that the number of living individuals diagnosed with MGUS will be well over a million in next 30 years [8]. Cause current practice guidelines do not recommend routine screening for MGUS in the general population because of the lack of proven benefit and absence of curative or preventive therapy. In this overview, we assume severe difficulities in managment of MGUS in patients aged 60 years and more in primary health care. Abstract