THE VALUE OF IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY
IN THE ASSESSMENT OF BONE MARROW DISORDERS

Attilio Orazi, M.D., FRCPath. and Dennis P. O'Malley, M.D.

CD30 (BerH2) Anti-CD30 is a mouse monoclonal antibody made against cultured cell lines of CD30 positive cells. The antigen is expressed by Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg cells, by the cells of anaplastic large cell lymphomas and by a varying number of activated B and T cells. We use a heat induced epitope retrieval technique and find that the stain works well in formalin fixed and B5-fixed tissue and works well in decalcified material. It is important to recognize that CD30 is not a unique stain for anaplastic large cell lymphoma, for it is characteristically positive in many peripheral T cell and B cell lymphomas. It also stains lymphoid cells which harbor Epstein-Barr virus. Its primary use in bone marrow is to detect anaplastic large cell lymphoma or Hodgkin's disease. CD30 also stains the cells of embryonal cell carcinoma and other non hematopoietic tumors, melanoma in particular. References Falini B, Pileri S, Pizzolo G, Durkop H, Flenghi L, Stirpe F, et al. CD30 (Ki-1) molecule: a new cytokine receptor of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily as a tool for diagnosis and immunotherapy. Blood 1995;85:1. Pallesen G, Hamilton-Dutoiit SJ. Ki-1 (CD30) antigen is regularly expressed by tumor cells of embryonal carcinoma. Am J Pathol 1988;133:446. Schwab U, Stein H, Gerdes J, Lemke H, Kirchner H, Schaadt M, et al. Production of a monoclonal antibody specific for Hodgkin and Sternberg-Reed cells of Hodgkin's disease and a subset of normal lymphoid cells. Nature 1982;299;65. Schwarting R, Gerdes J, Durkop H, Falini B, Pileri S, Stein H. Ber-H2: a new anti-K1-1 (CD30) monoclonal antibody directed at a formol-resistant epitope. Blood 1989;74:1678. Stein H, Mason DY, Gerdes J, O'Connor N, Wainscoat J, Pallesen G, et al. The expression of the Hodgkin's disease associated antigen Ki-1 in reactive and neoplastic lymphoid tissue: evidence that Reed-Sternberg cells and histiocytic malignancies are derived from activated lymphoid cells. Blood 1985;66:848.