Soluble CD30: a possible serum tumor marker for primary effusion lymphoma.

BACKGROUND The serum level of soluble CD30 (sCD30) is known to be increased with several lymphomas and to correlate with prognosis. Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a highly aggressive malignant lymphoma with poor prognosis, but the existence and significance of sCD30 in PEL have not yet been investigated in detail. OBJECTIVES Since the membrane type of CD30 is frequently expressed on the surface of PEL cells, we compared the expression of the membrane type of CD30 and the production of sCD30 among PEL cell lines as well as other lymphomas. METHODS The expression of surface CD30 in various lymphoma cell lines was analyzed with flow cytometry ans sCD30 was quantified by ELISA. RESULTS Both surface and sCD30 were detected on PEL cell lines as well as on Hodgkin's lymphoma and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma cell lines. Surface CD30 and sCD30 levels of each cell lines correlated with each other. CONCLUSION The serum level of sCD30 appear to be a useful biological tumor marker for the diagnosis and management of CD30-positive PEL.