[Immunologic reactivity of breast cancer patients].

An attempt was made to further characterize some conditions determining the decrease of immunological responsiveness in patients with mammary gland cancer. To reveal the delayed-type cell hypersensitivity, the antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, staphylococcus, fungi Candida were employed as well as a contact allergen--dinitrochlorobenzene. Tests were made prior to the treatment and in different terms after it. To determine T-lymphocytes the rosette-formation test with sheep erythrocytes was used. Also, the degree of lymphoplasmocytic infiltration of the tumor and the amount of peripheral blood lymphocytes were estimated. Under examination were 126-patients with mammary gland cancer, 56--with benign tumors and 73--practically healthy subjects. The frequency of positive skin tests for any of the antigens under study was lower in breast cancer patients than in the group with benign tumors and healthy subjects. There was no manifest inhibition of the immune response in the initial stages of mammary gland cancer.