[Monoclonal immunoglobulins, cytomegalovirus infection and malignant observations blood diseases].
Monoclonal immunoglobulins (Eg) are detected in the serum of 7/29 patients treated for leukemia (6 cases) or lymphoma (1 case). All of them developped cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The 7 patients were children or young adults; 6/7 were in complete remission of the hematological disease. They completed chemotherapy before the onset of the viral infection and had received blood components. The monoclonal Ig are IgG (6 cases) and IgM (1 case), In 2 sera there are two M components. The level of the peak was under 1 g/100 ml (5 cases) and reached 1.5 and 1.7 g/100 ml in the 2 other sera. Polyclonal Ig are normal except in one case where there is moderate hypo-Ig; Plasmocytic infiltration was observed in none of the 7 patients. Evidence of CMV infection was confirmed by viremia and/or significant rise of complement fixing antibodies. In four cases, the monoclonal Ig disappeared in less than 6 months. The significance of the monoclonal Ig associated with CMV infection is discussed.