THE BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANOMALOUS SERUM AND URINARY PROTEINS OF MYELOMATOSIS, LYMPHOMA, AND OTHER CONDITIONS

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Abstract
Anomalous serum and urinary components occur most commonly in myelomatosis and lymphoma. They also occur occasionally in a number of other conditions. In a few cases, no his-tological evidence of disease can be obtained which suggests that such proteins are manifestations of a primary lesion at a biochemical level. Certain morphological changes are probably secondary to the presence of the anomalous components. In some of the conditions in which they have been found, incomplete data concerning occurrence of anomalous components make it yet impossible to assess their significance. In cases associated with malignant cell division, however, the production of anomalous components can best be attributed either to the selective proliferation of normal cells, i. e., cells which normally form the anomalous component in small amounts, or to the selective proliferation of abnormal cells, i.e., cells which have undergone a somatic mutation conferring on them the ability to produce the anomalous component. The choice between these two possibilities depends largely on whether anomalous components are qualitatively normal or abnormal. As yet evidence does not allow a clear decision on this issue. Indeed, while it may be possible to prove that anomalous components are normally present in small amounts it is virtually impossible to prove that they are not.