Cutaneous Interferon Production in Patients with Hodgkin's Disease and Other Cancers Infected with Varicella or Vaccinia

Thirteen of 14 persons without cancer produced at least 1000 U per 4 ml of vesicle-fluid interferon (VF-IF) during varicella infection (that is, herpes zoster or chicken pox). Three of seven patients with cancer in whom varicella infections developed were leukopenic and produced less than 100 U per 4 ml. These three patients had further viral spread, and two of them died from the infection. One of them was treated with an interferon inducer, polyinosinic acid-polycytidylic acid, without increasing interferon levels or clinical improvement. The other four patients were not leukopenic and had interferon levels greater than 1000 U per 4 ml when studied late during the infection, and all recovered. Between 30 and 170 U per 4 ml of interferon were demonstrated from crust extracts of three patients recovering from serious complications of smallpox vaccination. The ability to produce high levels of cutaneous interferon, perhaps related to white-cell function, may be important in determining the outcome of varicella infections.