Carcinoembryonic antigen—producing multiple myeloma detected by a transcription—reverse transcription concerted reaction system

Multiple myeloma is a disease involving the clonal evolution of plasma cells that produce monoclonal immunoglobulin; however, other products, such as ammonia and amylase, reportedly are secreted by neoplastic plasma cells. We describe a patient with immunoglobulin A (IgA) myeloma who showed a high serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) that correlated well with disease status and IgA level. We detected CEA-specific messenger RNA in plasma cells by means of a recently introduced rapid and quantitative RNA-amplification system, the transcription-reverse transcription concerted reaction system. This report is the first of a patient with a diagnosis of CEA-producing multiple myeloma.