T-CELL RESPONSES IN PHOTOIMMUNE THERAPY

The extracorporeal inactivation of a lymphocyte rich huffy coat suspen sion with ultraviolet A light and 8 methoxy-psoralen can lead to drama tic clinical improvements following reinfusion of the damaged cells. T his therapy is reviewed in the context of the disease it is most commo nly used for: cutaneous lymphoma. Studies with cutaneous lymphoma pati ents have shown an active immune response against purified tumor cells . In addition a mouse model for an impact of therapy on a T-cell lymph oma has demonstrated results that parallel those from clinical studies in humans. The impact of photoimmune therapy on in vivo and in vitro T-cell responses to cutaneous lymphoma is discussed. (C) 1995 Wiley-Li ss, Inc.