title: A prospective study of lymphocyte responses to phytohemagglutinin in melanoma patients. (lack o prognostic value of correlation with minimal tumor burden).
abstract: Clinical findings in 63 patients with malignant melanoma were compared with the results of PHA-induced lymphocyte transformation tests. The patients had been followed up for 1 to 60 months (average 16 months) and repeatedly tested at regular intervals. Reactivity of lymphocytes in stage I patients was not altered if compared with that of controls. The frequency of lowered values increased in more advanced stages. Only in stage II patients a significantly impaired PHA-lymphocyte transformation was demonstrated in comparison with controls. In stage I and II patients, there was no significant difference in lymphocyte transformation between those with the presence of tumor and those without clinically evident tumor. Prognostic value of PHA transformation tests as regards the appearance of distant metastases within two years after the first examination, could not be proven in patients at initial stages of melanoma.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D010835:Phytohemagglutinins