Immune studies by the use of Multitest-Merieux in patients with kidney tumours

Responsiveness to recall antigens was studied by the use of Multitest-Merieux in 20 cases of kidney tumour with and without deposits. The patients of either group, compared with the controls, had depressed scores of immunoreactivity. After surgical removal of the tumour-bearing kidney, immunoreactivity increased, regardless of the presence or absence of deposits. The number of reacting antigens also increased in every case. Lymphocyte transformation in vitro was also depressed, in comparison with the controls before surgery, but after the intervention the transformed blast cells increased in number. Multitest was found suitable for studies of delayed-type sensitivity.