Blood Lymphocytes in Hodgkin's Disease Increase of B‐Lymphocytes Following Extended Field Irradiation

The percentage of B‐lymphocytes in peripheral blood has been investigated in 23 patients with Hodgkin's disease. About 2/3 of the patients were untreated. The others had been given extended field irradiation 5–36 months previously. Membrane‐bound immunoglobulin was utilized as a marker of B‐lymphocytes. In the untreated group about 1/2 of the patients were lymphocytopenic. The fraction of B‐lymphocytes was the same as has been found in healthy controls, which was on the average about 10 % of the blood lymphocytes. In the irradiated group the peripheral lymphocyte counts were normal. The fraction of B‐lymphocytes was considerably increased and comprised on the average about 34%.