B and T lymphocytes in Hodgkin's disease. Analysis at diagnosis and following therapy.

B and T lymphocytes were studied in the blood and lymph nodes of fifty patients with Hodgkin's disease. At diagnosis, most patients (77%) had normal percentages of circulating B and T lymphocytes. Most patients (60%) also showed normal percentages of B and T lymphocytes in involved lymph nodes. Splenectomy had no effect on circulating B and T lymphocytes in four of five patients studied 2 weeks postoperatively. Seventeen patients were studied before and after treatment to determine the effect of therapy. Very high percentages of B lymphocytes were found in patients studied following radiotherapy. It appears that the known defects in cell-mediated immunity in Hodgkin's disease are not expressed as significant abnormalities in B-or T-lymphocyte ratios in blood or lymphoid tissues at diagnosis. The proliferation of B lymphocytes following radiotherapy could represent a compensatory mechanism to cell-mediated deficiency or a loss of normal suppressor activity of T lymphocytes.