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Multiple myeloma is a malignant plasma cell proliferation that secretes a monoclonal immunoglobulin or a fragment of this immunoglobulin. The aim of this study is to specify the clinical, biological, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of MM in the elderly. A retrospective analysis of 51 patients with MM aged over 65 years and followed in a rheumatology department over a period of 22 years was made. The circumstances of discovery were dominated by bone pain (70.5%) and general syndrome (50% of cases). At the time of diagnosis, hematological complications such as anemia were more frequent in this setting than in others. The majority of patients (90.1%) were classified as Salmon and Durie stage III. Our patients were treated according to 3 protocols depending on the recruitment period. When following our patients, the majority were lost to follow-up. The causes of death were dominated by chemotherapy toxicity. Thus, the therapeutic management of these patients requires an evaluation of the tolerance/efficacy ratio to ensure an adequate quality of life.
About the author
Dr. Afef FekiAssistente do hospital universitário em reumatologia no Departamento de reumatologia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sfax, Tunísia.Titular de um doutoramento em medicina na Universidade de Sfax.Titular de um diploma em patologias ósseas médicas na Faculdade de Medicina de Paris Descartes, França.
