Role of immune complexes in hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and nonmetastatic polyarthritis

Abstract

Three case histories of patients with histologically proved malignant disease and an associated nonmetastatic symmetrical polyarthropathy are analysed. No evidence of a pathogenetic role for immune complexes was found in hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, whereas there is considerable evidence suggesting that the nonmetastatic polyarthritis associated with malignant lymphoma is an immune complex phenomenon.