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Polyclonal Immunoglobulin E Levels Are Correlated with Hemoglobin Values and Overall Survival in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Divisione di Ematologia dell'Universita' di Torino, ² Laboratorio di Ematologia Oncologica, Centro di Ricerca in Medicina Sperimentale, ³ Servizio Prevenzione e Protezione, Sicurezza Ambientale, ⁴ Laboratorio Analisi Baldi e Riberi, and ⁵ Servizio Universitario di Epidemiologia dei Tumori, Ospedale San Giovanni Battista and ⁶ Laboratorio Analisi, Ospedale Evangelico Valdese, Torino, Italy

Requests for reprints: Giorgia Maria Elena Matta, Divisione di Ematologia dell'Universita' di Torino, Ospedale San Giovanni Battista, Via Genova 3, 10126 Torino, Italy. Phone: 39-011-633-6107; Fax: 39-011-696-3737; E-mail: giorgia.matta{at}unito.it.

Purpose: Polyclonal IgG, IgA, and IgM immunoglobulins are often decreased in sera of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), whereas very few data are available on polyclonal IgE levels. We have determined IgE levels in a large series of MM patients at diagnosis and subjects with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and correlated IgE levels with survival and prognostic factors in MM.

Experimental Design: IgE were determined with a commercially available ELISA kit in 201 MM patients at diagnosis, 144 subjects with MGUS, and 77 age-matched controls.

Results: IgE levels progressively decreased from controls to MGUS and from MGUS to MM (P = 0.001). MM patients with IgE levels of >11.5 IU/mL (median) had a better survival than patients with IgE of <11.5 IU/mL (P = 0.048). The difference was even more significant when MM patients were divided according to clinical cutoff values. Patients with elevated IgE levels (>100 IU/mL) had from 2 to 3 years longer survival than those with low (<10 IU/mL) or intermediate values (10-100 IU/mL; P < 0.01). IgE levels were positively and negatively correlated with hemoglobin (P = 0.006) and ß2-microglobulin levels (P = 0.007), respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that high IgE levels are positive predictors of overall survival (P = 0.03 and 0.08, respectively) and strongly correlated with hemoglobin values.

Conclusions: Because IgE levels are dependent on Th₂ responses, these data open new perspectives in the interpretation of antitumor immune responses and pathogenesis of anemia in MM.