title: Serum Levels of Soluble CD 30 and Their Relationship to Tumour Burden and Prognosis in Patients with Hodgkin's Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the serum levels of soluble CD 30 (S-sCD 30), the Hodgkin and Reed Sternberg (HRS) cell density and the macroscopic tumour burden in untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD).
  
  
  METHODS
  In 126 untreated patients with HD diagnosed between 1979-1991, (79 males and 47 females, median age 33 years) S-sCD 30 was measured using frozen serum samples. The number of HRS cells (the HRS cell density) was counted in 10 high-power vision fields. The macroscopic tumour volume was estimated in 70 patients in stages I and II by counting the number of involved sites and scoring them according to size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Soluble CD 30 was detected in the sera of all patients. The levels were significantly higher in patients with high HRS cell density, high macroscopic tumour burden, stages III-IV, B symptoms and bulky disease. Patients with high S-sCD 30 had a significantly poorer DFS (p < 0.05) and survival (p < 0.001). High HRS cell density correlated to large macroscopic tumour burden, stage IV disease and B-symptoms. Patients with the highest HRS cell density had a significantly poorer disease-free survival (DFS) (p < 0.01) and survival (p < 0.01). In a multivariate analysis, S-sCD 30 was more important as regards prognosis than HRS cell density.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum levels of sCD 30 are probably a measurement of tumour burden in HD and are also strongly related to the prognosis. A high number of HRS cells correlated to an extensive spread HD and also to prognosis.
authors.affiliation: a Departments of Oncology Akademiska sjukhuset , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Enblad
authors.affiliation: a Departments of Oncology Akademiska sjukhuset , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.affiliation: b Pathology, University of Uppsala, Akademiska sjukhuset , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.affiliation: a Departments of Oncology Akademiska sjukhuset , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Glimelius
keywords: Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells; Hodgkin's disease; Prognosis; Soluble CD 30; Tumour burden