OBJECTIVES:Elevated serum immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) levels have been associated with autoimmune pancreatitis and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) for over a decade. However, an elevated serum IgG4 is not specifi c for the disease. There have been inconsistent reports of its use in diagnosis, as a marker of disease relapse, and its relationship to organ involvement in retrospective cohorts. The aims of this study were to ascertain conditions that are associated with an elevated serum IgG4 and to investigate the role of IgG4 in diagnosis, relapse, and organ involvement in a prospective cohort of patients with IgG4-RD.
METHODS:We evaluated serum IgG4 measurements in the Oxford Immunology Laboratory over 6 years. Patients in whom serum IgG4 was requested to differentiate IgG4-RD from other diseases were recruited into a longitudinal follow-up study to determine fi nal diagnosis. In a prospective cohort of IgG4-RD patients, organ involvement, response to therapy, and disease relapse were determined.
RESULTS:Two thousand and sixty-seven samples from 1,510 patients had serum IgG4 measured. Of these, IgG4 was elevated (≥1.4 g l SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL is linked to the online version of the paper at