Host response in malignancy with special reference to hypersensitivity and auto-immune reactions

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Abstract
The course of malignancy may be influenced by host factors. Some of these are nonspecific and include intrinsic homeostatic mechanisms, hormones, and local mechanical effects. Specific factors are presumably of greater importance; they consist largely of a cellular type of immunity provoked by the "foreign" nature of tumor cells. Tumor rejection or slowing of tumor growth in man are mediated largely by this response; in advanced malignancies, the ability to form tumor specific or other types of cellular antibodies is diminished or lost. Stimulation of this delayed cellular activity may significantly increase host defense against malignant growths. There is no conclusive evidence that erythema multiforme or erythrodermic reactions to tumor products are indicative of augmented host resistance.