Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity in leukaemic patients to autologous blast cells.

Abstract

Summary. Thirty‐four patients with acute mycloblastic and lymphoblastic leukaemia have been skin tested in relapse (30 patients) and remission (13 patients) with autologous irradiated leukaemic blast cells and standard skin test antigens. The timing, clinical appearance and histology of the positive skin tests were typical of classical delayed hypersensitivity. Thirteen of 29 paticnts in relapse and six of of 13 patients in remission showed delayed hypersensitivity responsiveness to autologous irradiated blast cells, indicating that skin test positivity did not correlate with the clinical status of the patient tested. Although tendency to a favourable clinical course was seen in patients with positive delayed hypersensitivity to standard skin test antigens, no such correlation was seen in those patients positive to skin tests with autologous blast cells. Membrane extracts of autologous blast cells failed to elicit skin test responsiveness in all but two of 19 patients tested.