A 45-year-old man presents with fever, night sweats, weight loss, and mediastinal mass. Biopsy shows large cells with bilobed nuclei, prominent eosinophilic nucleoli (owl-eye cells), and CD30+, CD15+, CD20−, CD45− immunophenotype. This is classic Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Reed-Sternberg cell surface antigen targeted by the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin is:
- A CD20
- B CD38
- C CD79a
- D CD30 ✓
Explanation
Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) consisting of an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody linked to auristatin E (MMAE), a potent microtubule-disrupting cytotoxin. CD30 is uniformly expressed on Reed-Sternberg cells in classical Hodgkin lymphoma and on anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) cells. Upon binding, BV is internalized and MMAE is released intracellularly, causing mitotic arrest and apoptosis. BV is approved for relapsed/refractory cHL and as consolidation post-autologous SCT (AETHERA trial). CD20 is targeted by rituximab; CD38 by daratumumab (myeloma); CD79a is a B-cell marker not therapeutically targeted by ADCs in HL.
Reference: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21st ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.