[Clinical and immunologic investigations of patients with urinary bladder tumors (author's transl)]

Forty patients with urinary bladder tumors (26 cancer and 14 papilloma) were investigated by clinical and immunological methods. Patients with Stage I and II bladder cancer had a decrease in their delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions in comparison to healthy controls. The same was found in patients with proliferating papillomas (WHO I) and benign papillomas. Patients with carcinoma in Stages III and IV had a reduced reactivity to recall antigens and could be immunized to a significantly lesser degree with primary antigens. In most cases a transurethral resection of the tumor was followed by radiotherapy. In four patients local immunotherapy was performed after resection of most of the tumor mass.