CD30 positive cells in cutaneous inflammatory lesions

Positivity for CD30 is found in a large range of non-neoplastic skin lesion. Of itself, it is not grounds for a diagnosis of malignancy.

Conditions in which CD30 expression has been reported include:

atopic dermatitis²

• carbamazepine³ and cefuroxime⁴ drug reactions

• scabies⁵

• molluscum contagiosum⁶

Atypical lymphoid cells in a Golgi & membrane distribution in:

• insect bite: 4/5, in association with eosinophils¹. By contrast, Smoller found no immunoreactivity for CD30 in six patients with arthropod bites and considered this useful in the differential from lymphomatoid papulosis⁷. This negativity may have been due to the lack of antigen retrieval employed¹.

• spider bites: 2/2¹

• various infections (abscess, cellulitis, chromomycosis, Herpes simplex, necrotising fasciitis): 8/12¹, in association with either a neutrophilic or eosinophilic inflammatory infiltrate.

• non-infective inflammation (hidradenitis, ruptured cyst, rhinophyma, granulation tissue, pressure ulcer, Sweet's disease): 9/9¹

References

¹Cepeda, L. T., M. Pieretti, et al. (2003). "CD30-positive atypical lymphoid cells in common non-neoplastic cutaneous infiltrates rich in neutrophils and eosinophils." Am J Surg Pathol 27(7): 912-8.

²Piletta, P. A., S. Wirth, et al. (1996). "Circulating skin-homing T cells in atopic dermatitis. Selective up-regulation of HLA-DR, interleukin-2R, and CD30 and decrease after combined UV-A and UV-B phototherapy." Arch Dermatol 132(10): 1171-6.

³Nathan, D. L. and D. V. Belsito (1998). "Carbamazepine-induced pseudolymphoma with CD-30 positive cells." J Am Acad Dermatol 38(5 Pt 2): 806-9.

⁴Saeed, S. A., M. Bazza, et al. (2000). "Cefuroxime induced lymphomatoid hypersensitivity reaction." Postgrad Med J 76(899): 577-9.

⁵McCalmont, T. H. and P. E. LeBoit (2000). "A lymphomatoid papule, but not lymphomatoid papulosis!" Am J Dermatopathol 22(2): 188-90.

⁶Guitart, J. and M. A. Hurt (1999). "Pleomorphic T-cell infiltrate associated with molluscum contagiosum." Am J Dermatopathol 21(2): 178-80.

⁷Smoller, B. R., T. A. Longacre, et al. (1992). "Ki-1 (CD30) expression in differentiation of lymphomatoid papulosis from arthropod bite reactions." Mod Pathol 5(5): 492-6.

This page last revised 13.1.2004.

©SMUHT/PW Bishop