Evolution of complement‐fixing antibody titers with the development of burkitt's lymphoma

Abstract

Abstract Sera of 29 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) were studied at different stages of the disease process for complement‐fixing (CF) activities against a soluble antigen extracted from a leukaemia‐derived and virus‐producing lymphoblastoid line (QIMR‐WIL line of Pope). The CF antibody activity was low (with a geometric mean titre (GMT) of 12.35) in sera from patients with controlled tumour, and high (GMT of 38) in patients with advanced or progressive tumours. Furthermore, in seven cases, the CF litres decreased with the regression of the tumour, and in five cases, the CF titres increased in parallel with the progression of the disease. This situation recalls that observed in acute viral infections, where CF antibodies disappear rapidly once the infection is controlled. CF and EA (early antigen (s)) antibodies should be studied in parallel on the same sera as a possible means for establishing prognosis in BL patients.