CD30 expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma correlates with non-GCB subtype but does not have prognostic impact in patients treated with first line R-CHOP/R-CHOP-like

Background: DLBCL is a heterogeneous disease with 30% of patients presenting as refractory/relapsing disease following R-CHOP treatment. New prognostic factors to identify the poor-risk population and alternative therapies for them are needed. CD30 is a member of the tumour necrosis factor receptor super family and is expressed by several types non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Brentuximab vedtin, an anti-CD30 antibody, is used in clinical practice for Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. The significance of CD30 expression in DLBCL remains unknown. We aimed to study the expression of CD30 in a large cohort of the novo DLBCL patients homogeneously treated with R-CHOP/R-CHOP–like to evaluate its correlation with characteristics at diagnosis and its impact in clinical outcome. Methods: We prospectively registered all patients diagnosed of DLBCL between January 2012 to August 2016. Pathology review was performed in all cases. Patients with primary central nervous system DLBCL, transformed lymphoma, or post-transplant DLBCL were excluded. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 4 microns' paraffin sections using routine protocols, CD30 expression was analysed using the antibody CD30 clone BerH2, dilution 1:30; Dako; staining in more than 10% of the malignant cells was considered positive. Samples were classified as germinal center B-cell–like (GCB) vs non-GCB per Hans algorithm. CD30− n = 111 CD30+ n = 44 Conclusion: CD30 is expressed in one-third of DLBCL patients, in whom an anti-CD30 therapy could be used. CD30 expression is significantly higher in patients with non-GCB DLBCL, however, its expression does not influence either response to R-CHOP/R-CHOP–like therapy or survival. Keywords: CD30; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)