Serum levels of soluble CD30 are elevated in the majority of untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease and correlate with clinical features and prognosis.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the serum levels of the soluble form of the CD30 molecule (sCD30) in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) to establish whether there is a correlation with clinical features at presentation and prognosis.


METHODS
The sCD30 serum levels of 117 patients were measured at diagnosis with a commercial sandwich enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) test kit, and in 78 of these patients the sCD30 levels were also recorded during the follow-up period.


RESULTS
sCD30 levels at diagnosis were increased (> 20 U/mL) in a high proportion of patients (87.2%; mean +/- SD, 108 +/- 134 v 5.3 +/- 5.7 U/mL in controls, P < .0001) and correlated with stage (stages I + II, 73 +/- 97 U/mL; III + IV, 162 +/- 165 U/mL; P < .0001), with presence of B symptoms (stage A, 69 +/- 82 U/mL; stage B, 162 +/- 171 U/mL; P < .0001), and, to some extent, with tumor burden (bulky presentation, 141 +/- 129 U/mL; nonbulky, 91 +/- 133 U/mL; P = .058). Patients with sCD30 levels greater than 100 U/mL at diagnosis had a significantly higher rate of poor outcome in terms of failure to achieve a complete remission (CR) or disease relapse after CR achievement. In fact, the event-free survival (EFS) duration of patients with sCD30 levels greater than 100 U/mL was significantly worse (P = .0016). Using multivariate analysis, an sCD30 level greater than 100 U/mL retained its significance after adjustment for other prognostic parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
sCD30 in HD at presentation strictly correlates with clinical features. Serum levels greater than 100 U/mL at diagnosis entail a significantly higher risk of treatment failure, a factor that is independent of other prognostic parameters.
Nadali
G
G
Department of Hematology, Verona University School of Medicine, Italy.
Vinante
F
F
Ambrosetti
A
A
Todeschini
G
G
Veneri
D
D
Zanotti
R
R
Meneghini
V
V
Ricetti
M M
MM
Benedetti
F
F
Vassanelli
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016019:Survival Analysis
D017730:Ki-1 Antigen