First Hodgkin cell line L428 and the CD30 antigen: their role for diagnostic and treatment of CD30-positive neoplasms.

Hodgkin's disease (HD) is a fatal disorder with the unique histologic features of few dysplastic Hodgkin- and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells surrounded by an abundance of nonatypical bystander cells in primary biopsies. By using the first Hodgkin cell line L428 the cytokine receptor CD30 was discovered. CD30 proved to be an excellent target for the diagnoses of CD30+ malignancies and for monoclonal antibody therapy in patients with these malignancies because of its highly restricted expression in healthy individuals. Recently, a new anti-CD30-toxin-drug-conjugate consisting of an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody bound to the nonimmunogenic toxin auristatin E with a newly designed linker was generated.