Ultraviolet light treatment delays contact sensitization to nitrogen mustard

SUMMARY Contact sensitivity to nitrogen mustard was delayed after first treating patients with u.v. light. While the number of patients becoming sensitive to nitrogen mustard after ultraviolet light exposure was not significantly different from the control, the number of patients who became sensitive in the first 30 days was significantly less than the control group. It is postulated that this delay in sensitization is due to an alteration of the patients’ epidermal Langerhans cells, produced by the u.v. light exposure.