<原著>肺癌, 肺結核, 癩症例における PHA 皮内反応の検討

Abstract

Clinical significance of a skin test with 5μg of purified phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was studied by testing 95 subjects, including 45 cases of lung cancer, 27 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, 14 cases of leprosy, and 9 healthy controls. Forty three of the lung cancer patients were tested simultaneously with 0.05μg of PPD in order to examine the correlation between the PPD test and the PHA test. The PHA skin reaction was determined 24hr after intradermal injection of PHA and was judged as positive when the diameter of erythema was 30mm or more. The mean diameter of erythema was 38.1±8.1mm (negative rate 0%) in healthy controls, 31.2±8.1mm (59.3%) in pulmonary tuberculosis, 28.8±8.1mm (55.6%) in lung cancer, and 13.8±7.2mm (100%) in leprosy. Lung cancer patients with stage III, IV or undifferentiated small cell carcinoma showed reduced PHA skin reactivity. In leprosy, the PHA skin reactivity of the lepromatous type was more markedly imparied than the reactivity of the borderline type. A positive correlation between the PPD skin reaction and the PHA skin reaction was observed in 27 (62.8%) of the 43 lung cancer patients tested. It is concluded that the PHA skin test is significant for the evaluation of cellular immunity in patients with various diseases.