M-protein-negative Myeloma Mimicking Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

A 60-year-old man was referred to us with high levels of aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). He did not complain of any symptoms; however, he had been diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation, even though his back pain improved only to half of its previous level with pregabalin. Thus, we asked about the red flag of back pain and confirmed that he had involuntary body weight loss, which led us to diagnose truly non-secretory multiple myeloma, a variant of multiple myeloma that is associated with M-protein negativity and a normal serum free light chain level.