Should I worry if I have MGUS?
Usually, MGUS isn’t a cause for concern and has no adverse health effects. However, people with MGUS have a slightly increased risk of developing blood and bone marrow diseases. These include serious blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma or lymphoma.
Can you live a normal life with MGUS?
Data from the Mayo Clinic showed that the median survival of MGUS patients was 8.1 years compared to 11.8 in the comparable US population. In a prior study from Denmark, 1,324 MGUS patients were found to have a 2-fold higher mortality compared to that of the general population.
Does MGUS cause pain?
If you are at high risk of MGUS developing into a more serious condition, your doctor may recommend more frequent checkups so that any progression can be diagnosed and treatment started as soon as possible. Your doctor is likely to watch for signs and symptoms such as: Bone pain. Fatigue or weakness.
Does MGUS weaken the immune system?
The underlying factors in a weakened immune response in MGUS and MM are as yet not fully understood. A confounding factor is the onset of normal aging, which quantitatively and qualitatively hampers humoral immunity to affect response to infection and vaccination.
Is MGUS an autoimmune disease?
Background. Multiple myeloma (MM) and its precursor, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), have been linked with several autoimmune conditions in the medical literature.
How serious is MGUS?
However, people with MGUS have a slightly increased risk of developing blood and bone marrow diseases. These include serious blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma or lymphoma. Sometimes, healthy cells in the bone marrow can get crowded out when the body makes very large amounts of M proteins .
What causes MGUS disease?
The exact cause of MGUS is not known. However, there is a speculation that genetic changes, environmental influence and certain infections may be responsible for causing this condition.
What is MGUS cancer?
MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance) is a non-cancerous condition where the body makes an abnormal protein, called a paraprotein. MGUS is not a cancer, but people with it have a slightly higher risk of developing: myeloma (a cancer of blood cells called plasma cells) lymphoma (a cancer of blood cells called lymphocytes).
What causes monoclonal gammopathy?
Causes of Monoclonal Gammopathies. The exact cause of monoclonal gammopathies is not clear. Some of the causes which play a role in this condition include: immune system problems, infection, and environment.