Recommendations Developed for Diagnosing Light Chain Amyloidosis

TUESDAY, Feb. 3, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- In guidelines issued by the American Society of Hematology and published online Jan. 27 in Blood Advances, recommendations are presented for diagnosing light chain (AL) amyloidosis.Vishal Kukreti, M.D., from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues developed evidence-based guidelines to support patients and clinicians in timely and effective diagnosis of AL amyloidosis. A multidisciplinary panel of 22 individuals representing various specialties and one patient representative developed the recommendations.The panel agreed on 12 recommendations. Among these recommendations, the use of the serum and urine immunofixation (SIFE and UIFE) and serum free light chain (sFLC) assay is recommended to increase clinical suspicion of cardiac AL amyloidosis for individuals with suspected cardiac amyloidosis. Paraprotein testing (SIFE/UIFE/sFLC) is suggested to increase clinical suspicion of AL amyloidosis for individuals with unexplained proteinuria. Cardiac magnetic resonance is suggested to increase clinical suspicion of cardiac amyloidosis for individuals with positivity in any of SIFE, UIFE, or sFLC, and abnormal cardiac biomarkers and nondiagnostic echocardiography. There is a suggestion against performing cardiac magnetic resonance and instead performing tissue biopsy to diagnose cardiac AL amyloidosis in individuals with positivity in SIFE, UIFE, or sFLC and abnormal cardiac biomarkers and echocardiography consistent with amyloidosis. Bone scintigraphy is not recommended for diagnosis of cardiac AL amyloidosis for individuals with suspicion of AL amyloidosis. Bone scintigraphy is recommended for diagnosis of cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis for patients without evidence of a plasma cell disorder and suspicion of cardiac amyloidosis."These guidelines will help clinicians across disciplines think of this disease in the right scenarios and provide them the necessary tools to obtain a clear, accurate diagnosis as quickly as possible," Kukreti said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter