The CD system is commonly used as cell markers in immunophenotyping, allowing cells to be defined based on what molecules are present on their surface. All cells in our body have one or more of them and they are useful for classifying white blood cells / WBC. There are more than 250 types of CD molecules.
The most precise way to identify the different types of WBC is to see what CD molecules appear on their surface. CD markers are mostly useful for classifying WBC and especially important for diagnosis of lymphomas and leukemias. To find out the type of WBC affected and the exact type of leukemia and lymphoma, we need to identify the types of CD molecules that the cancer cells have.
To give example, two lymphomas diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) looks similar under the microscope with large cancer cells, even though, they have different prognosis and treatments. Pathologists often use CD markers to distinguish between different lymphomas. DLBCL is CD20 positive, while ALCL is CD20 negative but positive for CD30.
CD molecules role as cancer treatment
CD marker-specific antibodies have been widely used for cell sorting, phenotyping, and blood cancer diagnosis. In addition, CD markers have become significantly important for cancer treatment. Some therapeutic antibody drugs have been designed to identify and attack cells that have a particular type of CD molecule. (rituximab to CD20 for lymphomas and leukemia treatment; alemtuzumab to CD52 for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and T-cell lymphoma treatment).
These drugs are called monoclonal antibodies and they can attack only the type of cell that contains the specific target CD molecule. Monoclonal antibodies can also be tagged to drugs or radiation-emitting substances that add to the ability to kill cells that have the specific CD marker on their surface.
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