Abstract
The immunological defect of early active Hodgkin's disease is characterized by depression of delayed hypersensitivity and can be assessed by negative reactions to a battery of skin allergens or by the inability to acquire contact sensitivity. Unlike a similar defect in patients with other neoplastic conditions, the deficiency in Hodgkin's disease is seen in patients in good clinical condition with an apparently localized process. While the homograft reaction is depressed in these Hodgkin's patients, antibody formation is largely intact and the lymphocyte count is normal or but slightly decreased. There is preliminary evidence that the anergy of early Hodgkin's disease is a peripheral defect—a manifestation of abnormal lymphocyte function. Later in the course of the disorder profound lymphopenia develops and most probably contributes to the more severe and complex immunological deficiencies and infectious complications of advanced Hodgkin's disease.
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