Background: Heavy/light chain assay allows the characterization and quantification of immunoglobulin light chains bound to heavy chains for each Ig'k and Ig' immunoglobulin class, discriminating between the involved/uninvolved isotypes in plasma cell dyscrasia. The Ig'k/Ig' ratio (heavy/light chain ratio) enables to monitor the trend of monoclonal component during therapy and disease evolution. Objective: In this study, we evaluate the impact of the heavy/light chain assay in monitoring multiple myeloma patients in comparison with conventional techniques. Methods: Serum samples of 28 patients with IgG or IgA monoclonal component were collected for a mean of 109 days and analyzed. The heavy/light chain assay was compared with classical immunoglobulin quantification (Ig'Tot), serum immunofixation electrophoresis, serum protein electrophoresis, and serum-free light chains quantification. Serum samples from 30 healthy patients were used as control (polyclonal). Results: Heavy/light chain ratio and serum immunofixation electrophoresis were comparable in 86% of the cases, and free light chain ratio and heavy/light chain ratio in 71.8%. Heavy/light chain assay and Ig'Tot measurements showed a concentration-dependent agreement in monoclonal patients. The heavy/light chain assay was able to quantify the monoclonal component migrating in SPE b region: this occurred in 10% of our IgG and 50% of our IgA patients. Conclusions: The concordance scores indicate that heavy/light chain and Ig'Tot assays show differences at high monoclonal component values. The heavy/light chain ratio, serum immunofixation electrophoresis, and free light chain ratio showed partial concordance. Our study confirmed that, in the context of heavy/light chain assay, heavy/light chain Ig'k and Ig' absolute values and heavy/light chain ratio are both important tools to monitor the presence of monoclonal component that are difficult to be identified in SPE.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.