HL-A ANTIBODY RESPONSE IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKAEMIA TREATED BY IMMUNOTHERAPY

Abstract

Sera from 42 patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia, who were receiving immunotherapy of weekly injections of allogeneie blast cells and bacillus Calmette-Guérin, have been tested for cytotoxic antibodies. In 5 of the 16 patients with antibodies, it was possible to show that these detected HL-A specificities present on the immunising cell. Eight out of 15 patients immunised for more than 12 months produced antibodies against a panel of unrelated normal lymphocytes. The survival time did not differ significantly between patients who produced antibody and those who did not.