Antibody And Complement Levels In Patients With Burkitt's Lymphoma

The concentration of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, and IgM) and complement (C3 and C4) were measured in fifty-seven (57) Nigerian children with Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), and in twenty-eight (28) apparently healthy control subjects, using the single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) technique. The sera analyzed were obtained from the four clinical stages of BL. There were high titres of IgA (stage I: n=22; 667.27 ± 509.16; stage II:n=11; 616.82 ± 408.55; stage III: n=20; 695.65 ± 699.93 and stage IV: n=4, 485.75 ± 289.90); IgG (stage I: n=22, 260.59 ± 232.56; stage II:n=11 195.18 ± 102.86;stage III:n=20, 309.65 ± 276.43; stage IV:n=4, 244.85 ± 400.107). IgM (stage I:n=22, 253.55 ± 104.99, stage:II n=11, 217.82 ± 77.8; stage III:n=20, 419.20 ± 74.21, stage IV:n=4, 233.35 ± 108.84). These values are significantly higher (P<0.05) than the values for the control subjects (IgA, 330.11±260.55; IgG, 288.29 ± 346.95, IgM, 201.82 ± 64.132). Higher complement titres were also observed in the various clinical stages of BL C3 (stage:In=22, 177.25 ± 5172; stage II:n=11, 197.36 ± 65.40; stage III:n=20, 190.05 ± 60.91; stage IV:n = 4, 142.25 ± 81.40); C4 (stage I:n=22,288.68 ± 181.84, stage II:n=11, 207.91 ± 67.64; stage III:n=20,243.30 ± 164.70, stage IV:n=4, 331.75 ± 275.59). The complement values for control subjects were significantly lower than the BL patients; (C3:157.04± 37.76; C4 256.39 ± 181.93). These results show relative higher immnoglobulins and complement responses in Nigerian children with BL.