Immunology of premalignant and malignant conditions of the oral cavity. II. Circulating immune complexes.

Quantitation of circulating immune complexes (CIC) levels was established in patients with oral cancer and oral precancerous lesions. The levels were compared with that in normal controls and chronic chewers of betel quid with no signs of any disease. Both patients with oral cancer and oral precancerous lesions had elevated CIC when compared to both the control groups. The most interesting observations were (a) the CIC levels in the chewing controls were significantly raised when compared to normal controls; and (b) the CIC levels in the patients with premalignant lesions were elevated almost to the same levels as in the oral cancer patients.