Immunoglobulins and complement components in patients with lung cancer.

Based on data providing a correlation between immunoglobulin or complement components levels and malignancies and specific disease parameters, we examined the possible correlation between the immunoglobulins, complement component levels and the stage of disease and the survival of patients. Sera from 55 patients with lung cancer and 22 healthy donor were assayed in order to evaluate the concentration of IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE, C3, C4. No considerable differences were found between the levels of immunoglobulins in patients with carcinoma of the lung versus subjects in the control group. Complement components (C3 and C4) levels were elevated in cancer patients with different cell types compared with levels in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the levels of the studied parameters and the stage of the disease and the survival time of patients. Our study confirm the hypothesis that malignant tumours contribute to elevation of complement components levels but additional studies are needed for demonstrating the prognostic value of immunoglobulin and complement components levels in lung cancer patients.