A Case of Amyloid Goitre in Heavy Chain Amyloidosis: Diagnostic Challenges and Clinical Implications

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2024 Feb 1;11(3):004286. doi: 10.12890/2024_004286. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Immunoglobulin heavy chain amyloidosis (AH amyloidosis) is an extremely rare subtype of immunoglobulin-derived amyloidosis and there is limited literature on how to diagnose and manage this disorder. We describe a rare case of AH amyloidosis with amyloid goitre and the importance of mass spectrometry in the identification of the different types of amyloids. While additional studies are needed, several observations suggest important practical implications, including differences in clinical picture, prognosis, and pathologic diagnosis.

Learning points: Immunoglobulin heavy chain amyloidosis is an extremely rare subtype of immunoglobulin-derived amyloidosis and amyloid goitre is even rarer.There is limited literature on how to diagnose and manage this disorder.This case portrays one of these cases - one of the few existing in the literature - and reinforces the diagnostic complexity of this entity.

Keywords: Heavy chain amyloidosis; Tru-Cut biopsy; amyloid goitre; mass spectrometry.