Overview

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (mak-roe-glob-u-lih-NEE-me-uh) is a rare type of cancer that begins in the white blood cells.

If you have Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, your bone marrow produces too many abnormal white blood cells that crowd out healthy blood cells. The abnormal white blood cells produce a protein that accumulates in the blood, impairs circulation and causes complications.

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is considered a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It's sometimes called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma.