Preliminary evaluation of immunotherapy in patients with Hodgkin's disease.

The clinical course of 38 patients with Hodgkin's disease in the stage of remission was evaluated. The material consisted of two groups of patients: 1. submitted to immunotherapy and 2. control group. In 16 cases immunostimulation was performed with BCG vaccine, including four cases treated with BCG vaccine and levamisole and 3 patients were given levamisole only. In some patients, immunotherapy restored normal immunologic reactivity, as shown by the reversion of negative tests of delayed hypersensitivity. In all patients treated with levamisole caused normal blastic transformation of PHA-stimulated lymphocytes. In the group of patients treated with immunotherapy relapses of malignant lymphogranulomatosis were observed in 10.6% of cases, and in the control group--in 15.7%. The patients of both groups remain under continuous clinical surveillance.

Immune condition in patients with Hodgkin's disease.

In 40 cases of Hodgkin's disease (24 untreated patients and 16 patients in remission) the immunological humoral and cell-mediated competence was studied using test of hypersensitivity of DNCB and PPD, blastic transformation and the ability of 3H-DNA synthesis in lymphocytes stimulated with PHA and PWM, and in some cases, with PPD. In all patients the concentration of serum immunoglobulins was determined as well. Impairment of immunological reactivity was found in about 40% of patients, on the average, in various stages of the disease and during remissions following treatment with cytostatic agents and radiotherapy. The most frequent abnormality found in 52.5% of cases was impairment of blastic transformation of lymphocytes stimulated with PHA in vitro. In 60% of cases negative results of intradermal test with PPD and in 75% of patients the DNCB test was negative. No correlation could be found between impairment of the immune competence in this disease and the clinical stage and/or type of histological changes in lymph nodes.