Distinguishing features of the immunology of Hodgkin's disease in children.

Laboratory tests of immunologic function were done in 96 children with Hodgkin's disease, at diagnosis and during and after treatment. Over the same period of time, 29 aged-matched control children were tested. The results presented in this report indicate that the immunology of childhood Hodgkin's disease has some features that distinguish it from the immunologic features of the disease in adults: (a) no progressive lymphopenia was found with advanced clinical stages; (b) peripheral blood T-lymphocyte counts were normal or high, and slight B lymphocytopenias were observed in children at all stages of the disease; (c) in spite of normal T-lymphocyte counts, a defective response to phytohemagglutinin stimulation was seen at diagnosis; and (d) recovery of the phytohemagglutinin response occurred with treatment and was related to modality of therapy and prognosis.