Español
PDFs by language
Our 24/7 cancer helpline provides support for people dealing with cancer. We can connect you with trained cancer information specialists who will answer questions about a cancer diagnosis and provide guidance and a compassionate ear.
Chat live online
Select the Live Chat button at the bottom of the page
At our National Cancer Information Center trained Cancer Information Specialists can answer questions 24 hours a day, every day of the year to empower you with accurate, up-to-date information to help you make educated health decisions. We connect patients, caregivers, and family members with valuable services and resources.
Or ask us how you can get involved and support the fight against cancer. Some of the topics we can assist with include:
For medical questions, we encourage you to review our information with your doctor.
For most types of cancer, determining the stage is very important. The stage of a cancer describes how much cancer is in the body. It helps determine how serious the cancer is and how best to treat it. Doctors also use a cancer's stage when talking about survival statistics.
There is no standard staging system for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) based on the extent of the disease in the body because this hasn’t been shown to be important when looking at outcomes or deciding on treatment.
Instead, doctors look at other factors, such as age, blood cell counts, the amount of immunoglobulin (IgM) in the blood, and the level of another protein in the blood called beta-2 microglobulin (β2M). People with lower levels of IgM and β2M tend to do better than those with higher levels. People with WM who are older, are anemic (based on a low blood hemoglobin level), or have a low blood platelet count tend to have a poorer outlook.
Experts have used these factors to develop a system that helps predict prognosis (outlook) for patients with WM. It is called the International Prognostic Scoring System for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (ISSWM). This system takes into account the factors that seem to predict a poorer outcome, such as:
Except for age, each of these factors is worth a single point. The points are added to make a score, which is used to divide patients into 3 risk groups:
These groups can be used to help predict survival (discussed in more detail in Survival Rates for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia).
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Kyle RA, Treon SP, Alexanian R, et al. Prognostic markers and criteria to initiate therapy in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia: consensus panel recommendations from the Second International Workshop on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. Semin Oncol. 2003 Apr;30(2):116-20.
Morel P, Duhamel A, Gobbi P, et al. International prognostic scoring system for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia. Blood. 2009;113:4163–4170.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia/Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. V.1.2018. Accessed at www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/waldenstroms.pdf on June 21, 2018.
Last Revised: July 19, 2018
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.