Quantitative change of serum protein and immunoglobulin in patients with solid cancers.

There are many quantitative changes of serum protein and immunoglobulin fractions in patients with cancer of various sites, excluding those with leukemic and lymphoproliferative disorders. The commonest change in serum proteins of patients with neoplastic disease is a reduction in albumin concentration and elevation of alpha globulins, especially alpha-2 fraction. Immunoglobulins (IgG, A,M) are a heterogenous group of proteins contained in the gamma, beta, and alpha-2 electrophoretic fractions of serum proteins. The IgG was found to be significantly increased in patients with cancer of the skin and lung, but decreased in patients with cancer of the prostate and breast. Serum IgM was reported to be elevated in patients with sarcoma, melanoma, brain tumors, but decreased in patients with carcinoma of the ovary. Serum IgA was found to be elevated in patients with cancer of epithelial secretory organs, such as skin, breast, head and neck, lung, gut, prostate, and uterine cervix. Whether these findings reflect specific changes of the humoral arm of tumor-host interaction remains to be investigated.