Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with raised serum IgM levels

Abstract

Eight patients diagnosed as having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) from clinical and haematological data were also observed to possess immunological characteristics similar to tropical splenomegaly syndrome (TSS). We suggest that the raised IgM level in these cases may be the effect of chronic exposure to malaria in patients who later developed CLL. Consequently, raised serum IgM, which is a feature of TSS, may also be found in some cases of CLL in Nigeria.