Clinical Correlations with Immunoglobulin Levels in Chronic Lymphatic Leukaemia§

Abstract

Summary: A group of 54 patients suffering from chronic lymphatic leukaemia has been analysed for the correlation of clinical and haematological data in relation to immunoglobulin levels. Not one patient in this series had a normal immunoglobulin pattern, the majority revealed severe reductions of IgA and IgM immunoglobulin levels. The low immunoglobulin levels were associated with higher blood lymphocyte counts, presence of lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. With increasing disease duration the immunoglobulins tended to be lower and this was accentuated in the patients receiving treatment. Low levels of immunoglobulin had a high correlation with incidence of infection and death due to infection. These findings are consistent with the thesis that chronic lymphatic leukaemia is a manifestation of an accumulation of immunologically incompetent cells.