Effect of transfer factor and zoster immunoglobulin in patients with varicella-zoster infection and malignancy.

Immunotherapy was given to 13 patients suffering from lymphoproliferative diseases complicated by varicella-zoster (VZ) infection. Five patients received transfer factor (TF) only, 6 received TF and zoster immunoglobulin (ZIG), and 2 received ZIG only. ZIG did not seem to alter the course of the infection. Cessation of vesicle formation and initiation of crust formation took place within 1 day after the first injection of TF in 5 patients with a localized zoster. In 4 patients suffering from an early dissemination of VZ infection, cessation of vesicle formation took place within 1 day (1 patient), 2 days (1 patient), 3 days (1 patient) or 4 days (1 patient) after the first injection of TF. An increase in serum interferon was observed in 4 of 9 patients who received TF, while no increase in serum interferon was observed in the control groups. Administration of a high-titer ZIG preparation did not seem to depress the humoral antibody response when combined with TF therapy. Therapy with TF in combination with ZIG seemed to have a beneficial effect in patients with malignancy when administered early in the acute VZ infection.