The following is a summary of the “Relationship between low serum immunoglobulin E levels and malignancies in 9/11 World Trade Center responders,” published in the December 2022 issue of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by Ferastraoaru et al.

This study aims to assess whether or not low serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels are related to the occurrence of cancer in WTC responders. Methods After September 11, 2001, IgE levels in 1,851 WTC responders were measured. This pilot study is the first to examine the relationship between IgE levels and cancer risk in a high-risk population, specifically contrasting those with “low IgE” (IgE in the lowest third percentile) and those without. Responders with low IgE (4/55, 7.3%) had a higher incidence of hematologic malignancies than those with normal IgE (26/1796 (1.5%), P<.01). 

In terms of solid tumors, the incidence was very similar between the 2 groups (5.5% vs. 11.4%, P >.05). Low-IgE participants had 7.81 times higher odds (95% confidence interval, 1.77-29.35) of developing hematologic cancer when compared with non-low-IgE participants, after controlling for relevant confounders (race, sex, age at blood draw, WTC arrival time, and smoking status). Leukemia (n = 1), multiple myeloma (n = 1), and lymphoma (n = 2) were the hematologic cancers found in this cohort. There was no evidence of a statistically significant association between IgE levels and the development of solid tumors.

Patients who responded to the WTC and had low serum IgE levels were at the greatest risk for developing hematologic malignancies. This study generates hypotheses that low serum IgE levels may be linked to the development of certain malignancies in at-risk individuals who are exposed to carcinogens. Further investigation into the correlation between IgE levels and allergy symptoms requires larger, multicenter studies with long-term follow-ups of participants.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1081120622005981