[Prognostic significance of serum immunoglobulins in chronic lymphocytic leukemia].

-CLL is frequently accompanied by decreased levels of serum immunoglobulins which increases patients susceptibility to infections (1,2). Low levels of IgA, IgM and IgG occur in 30%, 30% and 10% of B-CLL patients respectively at the time of diagnosis. The appearance of decreased levels of immunoglobulins is a continuos process developing spontaneously during the untreated course of the disease. As the clinical stage of the disease advances there is a trend for a more frequently decreased levels of immunoglobulins. In other low grade B-cell malignancies such as small lymphocytic lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia hypergammaglobulinemia is, on the contrary, often present (1-5). Patients with advanced stage of the disease, heavier bone marrow infiltration or high absolute lymphocyte count tend to be hypogammaglobulinemic even at diagnosis (1,6). The prognostic significance of immunoglobulin levels was analyzed by studying their influence on survival.