Skin testing in genitourinary carcinoma: 2-year followup

Compound 2,4 dinitrofluorobenzene was used to sensitize 115 patients with genitourinary cancer to test their ability to be immunized with a newly encountered antigen. In general, patients in whom a cutaneous hypersensitivity response did not develop were more likely to have advanced stage tumors than patients whose immunocompetence was intact. A 2 to 3-year followup showed that patients with impaired cell-mediated immunity were more likely to undergo disease advancement than patients of similar stage whose immunity was normal. Unfortunately, these results cannot be extrapolated for application to a given patient.