Dear Editor
We would like to sincerely thank our colleagues for their thoughtful and generous appraisal of our case report. We greatly appreciate the time taken to engage with our work and the insightful comments provided.
We fully agree that Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) positivity in plasma cell neoplasms represents an area of particular interest given its potential role as a viral initiator of disease. A comparative review of other reported cases of solitary plasmacytoma of the hand would also provide valuable context for clinicians. However, both of these aspects were beyond the intended scope of a single case report and are outside the parameters outlined in the journal’s submission guidelines.
With regard to the diagnostic pathway, a CT-guided biopsy was carefully considered. Unfortunately, due to the significant risk of pathological fracture, our interventional radiology colleagues felt it would be unsafe to proceed and an open biopsy was subsequently undertaken to establish a definitive diagnosis.
We also share the authors’ emphasis on the importance of long-term surveillance. The patient continues to be followed closely and remains disease-free at his most recent review, two years post-surgery. At the time of submission, only one year of follow-up data was available; however, ongoing monitoring remains a key priority.
Once again, we are grateful for the collegial feedback and thoughtful reflections on our report. Constructive discussion such as this enriches the collective understanding of rare presentations and contributes meaningfully to the literature.
Warm regards
Nilay Yalcin, Terry Le, Xinchen Gu, Julian Peters
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.