Case Report
Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis in
Waldenstr¨ om’s Macroglobulinemia
Akshee Batra , Shatha Herz Allah, and Bijin Thajudeen
Department of Nephrology, Banner University of Arizona Medical Center, 1501 North Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Bijin ajudeen; bijint@gmail.com
Received 5 July 2020; Revised 7 August 2020; Accepted 17 August 2020; Published 27 August 2020
Academic Editor: Bernard G. Jaar
Copyright © 2020 Akshee Batra et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Renal involvement in Waldenstr¨ om’s macroglobulinemia is a rare manifestation. Although most renal involvement is due to
monoclonal immune deposits, pathology can also be unrelated to it. Here, we describe a 68-year-old female with a history of
Waldenstr¨ om’s macroglobulinemia who presented with generalized edema and nephrotic range proteinuria. A renal biopsy
showed findings consistent with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Treatment with oral prednisone leads to the resolution of
proteinuria. is case highlights the importance of identifying pathology that might not be directly related to monoclonal
gammopathy, which could have implications on the management.
1. Introduction
Waldenstr¨ om’s macroglobulinemia (WM) is a lympho-
proliferative disorder involving B cells characterized by an
IgM monoclonal protein >1g/dl and 10% lympho-
plasmacytic infiltrate in the bone marrow [1]. Kidney
disease is a common presentation of WM usually charac-
terized by IgM deposits along the glomerular basement
membrane (GBM), infiltration of the interstitium, or am-
yloidosis [1, 2]. However, occasionally the pathology could
be unrelated to the immunoglobulin deposition (Tables 1
and 2). Here, we report a case of focal segmental glo-
merulosclerosis (FSGS) in a patient with WM. According to
our knowledge, there is only one other reported case of
FSGS in WM [1].
2. Case Report
A 68-year-old female presented to the outpatient clinic
with complaints of lower extremity edema for four weeks.
Her past medical history was significant for lympho-
plasmacytic lymphoma with IgM monoclonal gammop-
athy or WM. Since the criteria for treatment were not met,
she did not receive any treatment for WM. Her home
medications included omeprazole and ferrous sulfate. Her
vitals showed a temperature of 98
°
F, blood pressure of
136/78 mmHg, pulse rate of 84/minute, respiratory rate of
16/min, and body mass index of 22.35 kg/m
2
. e rest of
the physical examination was unremarkable except for 2+
edema of the lower extremities. Laboratory studies yielded
the following values: hemoglobin 8.3 g/dl, white blood cell
count 14400/mm
3
, platelet count 496000/mm
3
,bloodurea
nitrogen 13 mg/dl, creatinine 0.6 mg/dl, calcium 8.5 gm/
dl, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) 94 mm/1st hour,
LDH 340 IU/I, and total protein 7.5 g/dl with albumin
3.9 g/dl. Urine sediments contained few erythrocytes and
hyaline casts. e spot protein/creatinine ratio was
16.2gm/gm creatinine, and the albumin-to-creatinine
ratio was 9.9 gm/gm creatinine. Serum immunoelectro-
phoresis showed IgM 1693 mg/dl, IgG 453 mg/dl, and IgA
23mg/dl. Serum immunofixation revealed monoclonal
IgM kappa light chains. e concentration of serum kappa
and lambda light was 73.74mg/L and 2.38mg/L, re-
spectively. e ratio of kappa to lambda was 30.98. Pe-
ripheral blood flow cytometry revealed a monocytic kappa
light-chain-restricted B-cell population. Cryoglobulins
were absent. All serologies, including complements, ANA,
anti-dsDNA, ANCA, HIV, and hepatitis panel, were
negative. A renal biopsy was performed. Light microscopy
showed glomeruli with thin and delicate capillary loops,
Hindawi
Case Reports in Nephrology
Volume 2020, Article ID 8895705, 3 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8895705