Immunodeficiency and prognosis in Hodgkin's disease.

Blood lymphocytes from the majority of 33 unselected and untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease were deficient in T-lymphocytes and their DNA synthesis induced by concanvallin A mitogen and PPD antigen was impaired. The spontaneous DNA synthesis during the first 24 hours of culture was often raised. The prognostic role of the lymphocyte deficiency was evaluated in a follow-up 10-22 months after institution of therapy. The lymphocyte functions were more commonly abnormal in patients responding poorly to treatment (incomplete remission, relapse after treatment, or death) than in patients entering complete remission. The lymphocyte deficiency seems to give information about prognosis in Hodgkin's disease in addition to histopathology, clinical stage, B-symptoms and age.