[Antimo]

High IgE - is it due to my MGUS?

by Antimo on Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:05 pm

Hello everybody,

I have MGUS and I have been having colds, flu symptoms, and weakness with fatigue that has been ongoing for 5 months. I was told to see an infectious disease doctor by my oncologist, which I did. The only thing she found wrong was my IgE total serum was at 1475. She in turn told me to see an immunologist. Which i went to last week. He did more blood tests and parasite check (all normal). IgE still high, I did ask him if this is related to my MGUS, which he said he was not sure. I have no allergies, lung problems, all clear. I asked if the IgE would be part of my SPEP and immunofixation blood test and should have shown up on that test, or is it a totally different test.. He was not sure, and said that I may have to go to a special clinic to figure this out.

I am confused!

Would an IgE total blood serum test show an IgE MGUS, or was the immunofixation and SPEP test I had enough to have shown an IgE MGUS? Or is there a special test to to check for an IgE MGUS, such as an IgE immunofixation and an SPEP blood test to check specifically for IgE MGUS?

Thanks to all!
God Bless All

[Multibilly]

Re: High IgE - is it due to my MGUS?

by Multibilly on Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:48 pm

Hi Antimo,

IgE myeloma is extremely rare. There have only been about 50 reported cases of it ever happening to date.

You would need a specialized immunofixation test to detect a monoclonal IgE isotype since the standard immunofixation tests from Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics (assuming you use one of these labs in the USA) only test for IgA, IgG and IgM isotypes. An IgE m-spike "may" show up on an SPEP, but they tend to be very small or unrecognizable. You might want to read through this article to better understand the challenges of diagnosing IgD and IgE monoclonal gammopathies:

S Pandey & RA Kyle, "Unusual Myelomas: A Review of IgD and IgE Variants," Oncology, Aug 15, 2013 (full text)

More common causes of elevated IgE levels include allergic reactions and parasitic infections.

See:

https://www.labcorp.com/test-menu/29386/immunoglobulin-e-total
https://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/8159