Correlations among cutaneous reactivity to DNCB, PHA-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis and peripheral blood E rosettes.

Comparisons of the results obtained in a study of fifty-two patients with genitourinary malignancies using three assays to monitor the thymus-dependent immune system (delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to DNCB, PHA-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis, and peripheral blood E rosette-forming lymphocyte counts) yielded statistically significant positive correlations between the DNCB and PHA assays in twenty-one of twenty-eight instances, the DNCB and E rosette assays in thirteen of sixteen instances, the PHA and E rosette assays in twenty-eight of thirty-six instances, and among the DNCB, PHA and E rosette assays in ten of fourteen instances. The results suggest that both PHA-stimulated lymphocyte blastogenesis and peripheral blood E rosette-forming lymphocyte levels provide meaningful in vitro correlates of cell-mediated immunity.