Abstract
Reports concerning findings of laparoscopies and liver biopsies performed in cases of macroglobulinemia are very rare. We have encountered a case of WMG in which cancer cells had infiltrated into the liver. The patient was a 57-year-old male hospitalized for liver dysfunction. He was diagnosed as suffering from WMG after detailed clinical studies. Laparoscopy revealed that the liver surface was relatively smooth and dark brown, and that there was marked distension of the lymphatics. Liver biopsy revealed that while the basic tissue structure was retained, there was marked infiltration of the Glisson's capsule by lymphoid cells. Immunohistochemical staining of the biopsy tissue was performed and these lymphoid cells were found to stain positively with anti-IgM and anti-K antibody. Moreover, serum protein electrophoresis performed during hospitalization showed an obvious M-bow and Bence-Jones proteinuria was positive. Hematological studies were performed as well, and as the results the patient was diagnosed as suffering from WMG. Infiltration of the liver by cancer cells in this disease has been studied in a relative detail at autopsy etc., but there have been very few reports regarding the findings of laparoscopy or liver biopsy, and we, therefore, presented this report with review of the literatures.
