Abstract:

CD30 can be expressed in a variety of lymphoma subtypes, among which classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) are the most common ones. Recently, Brentuximab vedotin, the antibody-drug conjugate targeting CD30, has been approved in the treatment of patients with refractory and relapsed CHL and ALCL, and has achieved significant curative effect. However, whether CD30-targeted therapy could benefit patients with other types of lymphoma remains largely unknown. Accurate evaluation of the expression level of CD30 may thus have important guiding significance for the clinical trials and individualized treatment of patients with those lymphomas. To date, CD30 detection is mainly via immunohistochemical staining, however, with no unified and standardized process and interpretation method. We herein described the current status on CD30 testing, and explored the procedures of immunohistochemical detection and interpretation of the results through multicentric studies. A consensus was finally reached, which was based on the combination of our research results, literature review, experts’ experience, and internal discussion among the panel members, and might hopefully contribute to standardization of the immunohistochemical detection and interpretation of CD30 expression in lymphomas.

Key words: Lymphoma, CD30, Immunohistochemistry, Standards for detection, Criteria for interpretation