1974•Scandinavian Journal of HaematologyRequires access
IgG Subclasses: Relationship to Clinical Aspects of Multiple Myeloma and Frequency Distribution among M‐Components
Peter H. Schur, Robert A. Kyle, Kurt J. Bloch, William J. Hammack, Shirley L. Rivers, Austin U. Sargent, Robert F. Ritchie, O. Ross McIntyre, William Curry Moloney, Lynda Wolfson
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Abstract
The possible role of IgG subclasses in patients with M‐components or multiple myeloma was investigated. Among 900 patients with monoclonal proteins, the following IgG subclasses were identified: 77 % were IgG1; 14 % were IgG2; 6 % were IgG3; and 3 % were IgG4. The IgG of normal sera consists of 64–70 % IgG1, 23–28 % IgG2, 4–7 % IgG3 and 3–4 % IgG4. IgG1 M‐components were seen more frequently and IgG2 less frequently than had been expected. There were 389 patients with documented multiple myeloma assigned to four subgroups based upon IgG sub‐classification of their M‐components. These four groups resembled each other in many respects, but patients with IgG2 myeloma tended to develop hypercalcaemia and anaemia more frequently than patients with IgG1 or IgG4 myeloma; patients with IgG3 myeloma tended to develop anaemia and had azotaemia more frequently than patients with IgG1 or IgG4 myeloma.