Comprehensive Next-Generation Sequencing Testing in a Patient with TEMPI Syndrome

Lab Med. 2023 Sep 5;54(5):546-549. doi: 10.1093/labmed/lmad003.

Abstract

TEMPI syndrome is a new and poorly understood disease that is currently considered a type of plasma cell neoplasm with paraneoplastic manifestations. The TEMPI acronym defines the hallmarks of the syndrome: T for telangiectasia; E for erythrocytosis with elevated erythropoietin; M, monoclonal gammopathy; P, perinephric collections; and I, intrapulmonary shunting. Due to the marked erythrocytosis as the most common presenting feature, TEMPI is often misdiagnosed as polycythemia vera. However, unlike polycythemia vera, TEMPI is not associated with a JAK2 mutation. The pathogenesis of TEMPI syndrome is unknown, although a few hypothetical disease mechanisms have been previously discussed. Here we present a new case of TEMPI syndrome, discuss results of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel covering 1,425 known cancer-related genes, and review the current literature with focus on an update of the genetics of TEMPI syndrome. This is the first report of TEMPI that includes results of comprehensive NGS testing.

Keywords: MGUS; erythrocytosis; erythropoietin; monoclonal gammopathy; paraproteinemia; plasma cells; polycythemia.

MeSH terms

  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Paraproteinemias* / pathology
  • Polycythemia Vera* / genetics
  • Polycythemia* / diagnosis
  • Polycythemia* / genetics
  • Telangiectasis* / diagnosis
  • Telangiectasis* / pathology