Hematological entities with plasmacytic differentiation: a case report 

INTRODUCTION: Plasmacytoma, a localized tumor of monoclonal plasma cells without any clinical, radiological or physical evidence of plasma cell neoplasm (PCN), is a rare entity that accounts for 1% of PCN. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) extramedullary plasmacytoma of mediastinal region has never been reported and is a diagnostic challenge considering other differential diagnoses. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 51-year-old African-American female with progressively increasing cough, dyspnea, and dysphagia for 6 months with a computed tomography (CT) scan revealing a subcarinal mass. The histopathological analysis of the mass reveals a diagnosis of lymphoma with plasma cell differentiation, with a differential of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma and plasma cell neoplasm. The lymphoma panel via next-generation sequencing (NGS) and a myeloma-targeted fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) panel confirmed the diagnosis of IgM extramedullary plasmacytoma, an entity of rare occurrence. Treatment with radiation led to complete regression of the plasmacytoma with normal blood work-up. CONCLUSIONS: This report describes the challenges of diagnosing IgM extramedullary plasmactyoma. Our case report highlights the importance of cytogenetics and NGS in establishing a correct diagnosis that indeed has prognostic and therapeutic implications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13256-023-04082-x.