Myeloma and diabetes mellitus.

Dear Editor,

The recent article on “myeloma and diabetes mellitus” is interesting.[1] Ali et al., noted that “the treatment of multiple myeloma and diabetes mellitus is multifaceted.”[1] In fact, diabetes mellitus is a common disorder in the present day. It is no doubt that diabetes mellitus can be seen in cancerous patients. For the concomitant diabetes mellitus and myeloma, a recent report by Ahmed et al., also proposed for the importance of this problem.[2] The concern is on the interrelationship between cancer and myeloma. It is proposed that the use of high doses of glucocorticoids in management of myeloma can result in diabetes mellitus. The follow up of blood glucose for the early detection of diabetes mellitus in the patients with myeloma is suggested.[3] On the other hand, Snowden et al., reported that “the plasma cell tumor was associated with excessive production of insulin-like peptides with consequent reduction in the blood glucose level.”[4] Hence, the observation of significant unexplained reduction of blood glucose in diabetic patient with myeloma might require intensive investigation on progress of malignancy.