[Adjuvant DNCB immunotherapy in malignant melanoma].

Report on the application of a dinitrochlorobenzene ointment of 61 postoperative melanoma patients exhibiting clinical stages I and II. After contact sensitization the erythemogenic threshold concentrations of DNCB were mostly found in the range of 0,05% and 0,1%. Patients with reactions at low concentrations of 0,01% and 0,05% DNCB were in the mean 8 years younger than those with reactions at 0,1% and 0,5%, but no connection to different stages of malignant melanoma could be evaluated. 3 melanoma patients suffering from skin metastases were treated by epifocal DNCB-application. One of them became clinically tumor free since more than 1 year, whereas the two other exhibiting multicentric and/or profound tumor growth did not respond. In a 82-year-old wife a superficial lentigo maligna melanoma disappeared by DNCB-application. In none of the 61 cases we observed a "tumor enhancement" after immunoprophylaxis or adjuvant immunotherapy with DNCB. The DNCB-method in malignant melanoma is yet in the experimental stage and is not recommended for general use in practice.