Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity ad peripheral blood lymphocyte counts in gastrointestinal cancer

Cell-mediated immune responses as expressed by delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity (DCH) reactions to specific recall antigens (PPD and BCG) and non-specific contact antigen (DNCB), and peripheral blood lymphocyte counts were studied in 60 patients of gastrointestinal cancer and 20 control subjects. The pattern of these immune responses in gastrointestinal cancer was significantly different from tumour-free control subjects of comparable age and sex distribution and apparently indicates a depressed immunologic function in cancer patients. Our study suggests that DNCB skin testing and peripheral blood lymphocyte counts are relatively simple and reliable investigations for predicting the advanced stage of gastrointestinal cancer (and BBY implication prognosis).