Abstract
Using automated measurements of kappa (κ) and lambda (λ) light chain and IgG, IgA and IgM concentrations we assessed the ability of the κ/λ ratio and the heavy/light chain ratio to identify and type monoclonal components which had been previously identified by serum protein electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis. We examined 1151 samples, of which 277 contained monoclonal components; 90% of the monoclonal proteins could be identified by this approach, of which 95% were correctly typed. In addition 19 of 874 samples without monoclonal components showed an abnormal κ/λ ratio. We assessed the ability of the immunochemical evaluation to calculate monoclonal component concentration and then compared the results to the scanning densitometry of serum protein electrophoresis.