Levels of plasma immunoglobulin E in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and breast cancer

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a key player in allergy diseases and immune responses against parasites. Epidemiological studies indicated that there is an inverse association between plasma IgE levels as it been seen in allergic patients and the risk of cancer development. The aim of this study was to investigate the plasma IgE levels in breast cancer and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia than healthy subjects.
In this case-control study, twenty patients with CLL also twenty five patients with breast cancer as the cases groups and twenty age-matched healthy subjects as control group were evaluated. Plasma IgE levels in both groups were measured by ELISA. Data from both groups were analyzed and compared by kolmogorov-smirnov test and paired t-test with SPSS version 16.
The IgE levels were 9.045±4.261 IU/ml in CLL patients and 37.19±12.21 IU/ml in patients with breast cancer and 40.73±16.18 IU/ml in healthy subjects. Our data showed that plasma IgE levels in CLL patients group were significantly less than controls group (p It seems that there is an inverse correlation between serum IgE levels and the risk of developing CLL. While there is no correlation between the IgE level and the risk of developing breast cancer. IgE levels can be used as a biological marker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia development.