STUDIES ON DELAYED HYPERSENSITIVITY IN HODGKIN'S DISEASE*

Abstract

Delayed hyper sensitivity has been studied in 37 patients with Hodgkin''s disease by means of active sensitization with dinitrochlorobenzene. In the presence of active Hodgkin''s disease, even when clinically localized, cutaneous anergy was consistently found, and in two patients anergy fluctuated with the activity of the disease. Patients whose Hodgkin''s disease was inactive for less than two years showed either anergy or a normal reaction whereas those whose disease was inactive for longer than two years had normal skin reactivity. A close association of active Hodgkin''s granuloma and an immunologic defect characterized by cutaneous anergy is clear from these studies. The significance of this association remains to be established.