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SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2006
12/15/06
Monoclonal gammopathies and malignancies in patients with chronic urticaria
Summary
Background – The possible association of chronic urticaria (CU) and malignancies is still debated. It is not clear whether there is an increased frequency of malignancies in those with CU, as compared with that in age-related controls.
Findings – Karakelides et al of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN reviewed the occurrence of malignancies and monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS) in 1,639 patients presenting with CU from 1994-2001. A MGUS was found in 47 of 797 who underwent serum protein evaluations. Of this group with MGUS, 15% had a hematologic malignancy (vs a 0.9% incidence of heme malignancy in CU patients without MGUS. MGUS in CU patients was more common in those patients developing CU after age 56 years.
Overall, malignancies were found in 142 of the total CU group, again predominantly in the older age population.
Reference
Int J Dermatol 2006;45:1032-8
Editor's Comments
The findings in this report are of real potential value because of the large number of patients with CU seen in an institution with experienced clinicians. However, a major drawback is that no appropriate age-matched control group without CU was analyzed for comparison. Therefore, the authors’ conclusions about MGUS frequency in older patients with CU and that patients with CU less than 43 years old were unlikely to have associated MGUS or malignancy should be viewed with the understanding that age-related controls without CU were not evaluated in comparison.
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