title: Anaplastic large cell lymphoma: twenty-five years of discovery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The year 2010 commemorates the 25th year since the seminal publication by Karl Lennert and Harald Stein and others in Kiel, West Germany, describing an unusual large cell lymphoma now known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Investigators at many universities and hospitals worldwide have contributed to our current in-depth understanding of this unique peripheral T-cell lymphoma, which in its systemic form, principally occurs in children and young adults.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To summarize our current knowledge of the clinical and pathologic features of systemic and primary cutaneous ALCL. Particular emphasis is given to the biology and pathogenesis of ALCL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Search of the medical literature (Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations and Ovid MEDLINE: 1950 to Present [National Library of Medicine]) and more than 20 years of diagnostic experience were used as the source of data for review.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on immunostaining for activation antigen CD30 and the presence of dysregulation of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene (2p23), the diagnosis of ALCL has become relatively straightforward for most patients. Major strides have been made during the last decade in our understanding of the complex pathogenesis of ALCL. Constitutive NPM-ALK signaling has been shown to drive oncogenesis via an intricate network of redundant and interacting pathways that regulate cell proliferation, cell fate, and cytoskeletal modeling. Nevertheless, pathomechanistic, therapeutic, and diagnostic challenges remain that should be resolved as we embark on the next generation of discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. kinneym@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Marsha C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.forename: Russell A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Medina
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D017728:Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic / Q000266:history*