Idiopathic acquired agammaglobulinemia associated with thymoma. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

AGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA is an uncommon condition the underlying mechanism of which is fairly well understood in the majority of cases. Congenital agammaglobulinemia is the result of a recessive sex-linked gene, affecting males only, and becomes clinically manifest in early childhood. The acquired form affects previously healthy males and females and is usually secondary to lymphomas, injury to lymphoid tissue by x-rays or nitrogen mustards, multiple myeloma or other diseases characterized by dysproteinemia. In a small proportion of the cases no cause for the protein disturbance can be found, these being designated as cases of "idiopathic acquired agammaglobulinemia." Forty-four such cases have . . .