RESUMO
Sera of 80 patients with lymphoproliferative malignancies were examined for the presence of antinuclear antibodies [ANA] and ds-DNA antibodies using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Patients were subdivided into three groups: Group A included 12 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL], group B included 20 patients with Hodgkin's disease [HD] and group C included 48 non- Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL] cases in addition to a group of 20 healthy individuals of comparable age, sex and social status as controls. Also, Coombs' test was performed to detect red cell [RC] autoantibodies. Several blood group antigens were tested as ABO, Rh, Kell, Lewis and Duffy blood groups to evaluate if they have any relation to the formation of autoantibodies. The stage of the disease as well as the response to therapy were correlated to the presence of autoantibodies to evaluate if there is any impact of therapy or disease progression on their production. Fourteen patients were in stage two, 28 in stage three and 38 in stage four. It was concluded that autoantibodies in lymphoproliferative disorders is secondary to immune dysregulation rather than antibody production by the malignant clone