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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAbout 20 percent of people with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance develop a more serious condition, such as multiple myeloma or other cancers or blood disorders.
Doctors can't predict who will go on to develop a more serious condition, but they can determine who has the greatest risk. Your doctor takes into account several factors when determining your risk, including:
- The amount of M protein in your blood
- The type of M protein
- The number of plasma cells in your bone marrow
- The presence of protein in your urine
Your risk of developing a more serious condition increases the longer you've had monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Most people who develop problems do so about 10 years after their initial diagnosis.
- Monoclonal gammopathy. MayoClinic.org. http://www.mayoclinic.org/monoclonal-gammopathy. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Monoclonal gammopathy: Treatment. MayoClinic.org. http://www.mayoclinic.org/monoclonal-gammopathy/treatment.html. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS). The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch175/ch175b.html. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Kyle RA, et al. Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. British Journal of Haemotology. 2006;134(6):573-589.
- Gertz M. What is monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance? International Myeloma Foundation. http://myeloma.org/main.jsp?type=article&id=879. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Rajkumar SV, et al. Recognition of monoclonal proteins. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- New Mayo study shows higher prevalence of MGUS, a pre-cancerous blood disorder, than previously suspected. MayoClinic.org. http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2006-rst/3302.html. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Landgren O, et al. Risk of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and subsequent multiple myeloma among African American and white veterans in the United States. Blood. 2006;107(3):904-906.
