[The Su-polysaccharide skin test in lung cancer]

Skin testing with intradermally injected Su-Polysaccharide (extracted from Su strain Streptococcus bacteria) was performed in 41 cases of lung cancer. Su-polysaccharide skin test results were correlated, to some extent, with the patient's age, clinical stage and performance status and showed a similar trend to the simultaneously performed PPD skin test. These results suggested the potential usefulness of Su-Polysaccharide skin test results as one of the parameters of immunological status of patients with lung cancer. It was also demonstrated that skin reaction to Su-Polysaccharide was increased specifically after OK-432 immunotherapy and was well correlated with the prognosis of the disease. The Su-Polysaccharide skin test was thus considered to be a useful parameter for monitoring the immune response to OK-432 immunotherapy in lung cancer and also one of the parameters of prognostic value.