<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Previous studies have shown that
glioma patients have lower
blood IgE levels than controls. To evaluate its potential as a surrogate
biomarker for
glioma, we measured
plasma IgE levels in
glioma patients and healthy controls, and correlated them with clinicopathological factors and the
patients' outcome.</p><p><b>
METHODS</b>We used
enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (
ELISA) to determine the
plasma IgE levels of 25 normal subjects and 252
glioma patients (85
patients with grade II
glioma, 46
patients with grade III
glioma, and 121
patients with
glioblastoma). We also collected longitudinal
plasma samples from
glioblastoma patients and compared the
plasma IgE levels before operation, one week after operation, in the middle of
radiotherapy, after two cycles of
chemotherapy, and after
recurrence. The correlations between
plasma IgE levels and the outcomes of the
patients were determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>
Plasma IgE levels were significantly lower in
glioma patients (P = 0.004);
patients with low-grade
glioma have lower
IgE levels than
patients with high-grade
glioma do (P = 0.029). In 24
patients with both preoperative
plasma and two-cycle
chemotherapy plasma samples,
IgE levels increased after successful removal of the
tumor (P = 0.021), and the increase correlated with the
patients'
survival (increase > 100 ng/ml vs. ≤ 100 ng/ml, 127.5 weeks vs. 62.3 weeks. P = 0.012, log-rank).
Plasma IgE level increase of > 100 ng/ml has a
specificity of 80% and a
sensitivity of 78% to predict the
patients' long
survival (> 18 months).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our results suggest that
plasma IgE level correlates with clinical and pathological factors in
glioma patients. It has the potential to be a
biomarker for
glioma patients.</p>