The studies conducted at Memorial Hospital and at Ohio State Penitentiary concluded that that there was a significant reduction in immune response in advanced cancer patients relative to healthy Individuals injected with cancer cells. However, some doubt remained whether this reduction in immune response was due to the condition of cancer itself or whether it was due to some other condition associated with cachexia in debilitating diseases. In the study at the JCDH It was concluded that non-cancer patients with cachexia in debilitating diseases did not have a reduced immune response relative to healthy individuals[1].

In July, 1963 Southam’s research team conducted the third part of the study on patients at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital (JCDH) in Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn study selected 19 patients with non-cancer related debilitating diseases that involved cachexia and were not associated with abnormal immune responses. Patient conditions included Multiple Sclerosis Parkinson’s syndrome and Jakob-Creutzfeldt syndrome among others. Patients were injected subcutaneously with cancer cell lines, and growth of the nodules was measured every 2-4 days[2].

In July, 1963 Southam’s research team conducted a study on patients at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. In previous studies, It had been concluded that that there was a significant reduction in immune response to injected cancer cells in advanced cancer patients relative to healthy Individuals. However, some doubt remained whether this reduction in immune response was due to the condition of cancer itself or whether it was due to some other condition associated with cachexia in debilitating diseases. The Brooklyn study selected 19 patients with non cancer related debilitating diseases that involved cachexia and were not associated with abnormal immune responses. Patient conditions included Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s syndrome, and Jakob-Creutzfeldt syndrome among others. Patients were injected subcutaneously with cancer cell lines including HEp 2, HEp 3 and RPMI 41, and growth of cancer nodules was measured every 2 to 4 days. In all patients the cancer nodules had regressed 6 weeks after injection. The study concluded that there was no significant difference in immune response between non-cancer patients and healthy individuals.

  1. ^ LANGER, ELINOR. "Human Experimentation: Cancer Studies At Sloan-Kettering Stir Public Debate On Medical Ethics." Science 143.3606 (1964): 551. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 10 Nov. 2016
  2. ^ Levin, Arthur G., et al. "Rejection Of Cancer Homotransplants By Patients With Debilitating Non-Neoplastic Diseases*." Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences 120.1 (1965): 410. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.