Monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance and smoldering myeloma: Assessment and management of the elderly patients.

Monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) is the most frequent plasma cell disorder that commonly affects elderly patients. Although it is an asymptomatic condition, as well as smoldering myeloma (SMM), the risk of progression to multiple myeloma requiring therapy or other B-cell disorders varies greatly for individual patients, remaining low for MGUS (1% per year), while higher and not uniform for SMM patients (10% per year). This scenario implies some special considerations regarding assessment and follow-up, especially in the elderly. In this review, we provide the updated diagnostic criteria of monoclonal gammopathies proposed by the International Myeloma Working Group (IMGW); the current recommendations for the assessment of asymptomatic plasma cell disorders, with some concerns about the need of geriatric evaluation in the elderly population, the importance of distinguishing myeloma-related symptomatology from signs or symptoms caused by multiple chronic conditions typically found in the elderly. Finally, the identification of predictor markers of progression has enabled a proposal of risk-adapted follow-up strategies in MGUS and SMM that should be implemented in clinical practice. Although the standard of care is observation for MGUS and SMM patients as well, a recent randomized trial targeting high-risk SMM showed the clinical benefit of early intervention. The change of the treatment paradigm is also very promising and feasible for elderly patients, as long as a comprehensive geriatric assessment is conducted to optimize early treatment and reach maximum benefit with minimum toxicity, in other words, to ensure a better quality of life for these patients.