Review of Fifty‐Four Subjects with Monoclonal Gammopathy

Of 6995 persons examined in a population study, 64 were found to have M‐components in the serum. One of these was diagnosed as having myelomatosis and another as having asymptomatic chronic lymphatic leukaemia. Two‐and‐a‐half years later 52 of the 62 subjects who were considered to have benign monoclonal gammopathy were re‐examined. The M‐components were still demonstrable in all subjects in similar concentrations to those observed at the first examination. This, together with the subjects’clinical condition, strongly supports the original diagnosis of benign monoclonal gammopathy. Myelomatosis was excluded in two subjects in whom it had originally been suspected. Of the ten patients not re‐examined, one had left the district, four refused re‐examination and five had died. In none was there any evidence of myelomatosis or Waldenström's macro‐globulinaemia. The results lend further support to the view that benign monoclonal gammopathy is more common than myelomatosis or Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia.