THE GORDON TEST FOR HODGKIN'S DISEASE

Abstract

In 1932 Gordon¹reported the observation of a meningoencephalitic syndrome following the intracerebral inoculation of rabbits and guinea-pigs with a sterile suspension prepared from lymph nodes of typical Hodgkin's disease and in the ensuing year²suggested this procedure as a valuable diagnostic aid. Van Rooyen³and other English investigators⁴have corroborated this work and have affirmed the specificity of this test. From the reports in the literature (summarized in the accompanying table) the test has been applied in seventy-seven cases of Hodgkin's disease and has been found positive in fifty-six instances (77.9 per cent). Of 101 controls, consisting of normal lymph nodes and nodes showing carcinoma, sarcoma, lymphosarcoma, "pseudoleukemia," leukemia, tuberculosis, lymphoid hyperplasia and adenitis, the test was negative in ninetyeight cases (97 per cent), the three positive tests having been reported recently by Manson,⁵two of which were cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis and one