Spinal cord compression caused by plasmocytomas. A retrospective review of 14 cases.

Plasmocytoma is a plasma cell tumor, which occurs in various structures of the body. When the spinal column is involved, it may cause cord compression. In this study, 14 cases of spinal plasmocytomas are presented. Seven of them were male and seven female. The major complaints were pain in twelve cases, motor weakness in eight cases, and bladder disturbance in six cases. On neurological examination, twelve of the patients had impairment of extremity movements (85.7%), and eight had sensory losses (57.1%). Compression was more frequent in the thoracic region. There was a total block in nine and partial block in five cases. All patients underwent surgery. In thirteen cases laminectomy was performed, in one thoracotomy. In this report, complaints, clinical and laboratory findings, neurological examination, and histopathology of our cases are reviewed and the results discussed.