Abstract
A brief review is presented of the evidence linking the development of certain types of neoplasms, and of the malignant lymphomas in particular, to chronic immunosuppression in animals and man and to the naturally occurring human immunologic deficiency states. The discussion then focuses on Hodgkin's disease and considers recent evidence concerning the relation between the clinical stage of the disease and its associated defect in cell-mediated immunity. Finally, the prior occurrence of infectious mononucleosis in some cases of Hodgkin's disease is considered in the context of the hypothesis that the neoplastic cells of Hodgkin's disease may evolve from a chronic immunologic reaction, analogous to that of graft-versus-host, stemming from the induction of antigenic alteration in a subpopulation of lymphocytes by certain types of non-neoplastic viral infections.
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The W. I. Hubert Lecture delivered April 1, 1971, at the annual meeting of the British Association for Cancer Research, Bristol, England. Clinical investigations from the author's department cited herein were supported with the aid of grant CA 05838 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service.
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Kaplan, H. Role of Immunologic Disturbance in Human Oncogenesis: Some Facts and Fancies. Br J Cancer 25, 620–634 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1971.78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1971.78
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