Waldenström's macroglobulinemia in a patient with a chronic biologic false-positive serologic test for syphilis

Acute and chronic biologic false-positive serologie reactions for syphilis (VDRL) have been associated with a variety of diseases. Several investigators emphasize that false-positive VDRL titers are usually very low. This report describes a 73 year old man with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. The biologic false-positive serologic test for syphilis was recognized 33 years before the diagnosis of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia was made. VDRL titers were as high as 1:8192 and 1:32,000 during exacerbations of the macroglobulinemia. A biologic false-positive serologic test for syphilis is frequently associated with an elevated immunoglobulin M (IgM) level. It would be interesting to search for a relation between biologic false-positive serologic tests for syphilis and diseases characterized by monoclonal gammopathies.