Castleman's disease of the spleen: CT, MR imaging and angiographic findings

Castleman's disease of the spleen

INTRODUCTION

Castleman's disease (CD), also known as giant or angiofolicular lymphoid hyperplasia or lymphoid hamartoma, is a group of atypical lymphoproliferative disorders that share common lymph node histological features and may be localized either to a single lymph node (unicentric) or occur systemically (multicentric).

PATIENT AND METHOD

Herein, we present a rare case of a of 75-year-old female patient who was referred to our department and after a thorough work-up, underwent splenectomy with synchronous resection of an accessory spleen, splenic artery lymph nodes, and splenic hilar lymph nodes due to splenic involvement in a multicentric CD.

RESULTS

The pathology of the specimens led to the conclusion that it was a case of polycentric HHV-8-positive CD, affecting the spleen, the accessory spleen, and the lymph nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

Incidence of this rare condition is believed to be approximately 0.001-0.05%. CD has been linked to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8), and is associated with malignancies. The pathogenesis mechanism is considered to be a dysregulation and hypersecretion of cytokines, either idiopathic or secondary to a viral infection, with the latter considered the most frequent. Solid organ involvement is very rare as is splenic involvement.

Castleman’s disease of the spleen

Castleman’s disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. Clinically, it occurs as a localized (unicentric) disease or as a systemic (multicentric) disease. Unicentric Castleman’s disease (UCD) presents as a solitary mass and primarily affects the mediastinal, retroperitoneal, and cervical lymph nodes. In contrast to multicentric CD, which involves peripheral lymphadenopathy and numerous systemic symptoms, UCD is not typically associated with generalized symptoms. Three main distinct histologic variants are recognized: hyaline-vascular type, plasma cell type, and mixed type. Extranodal CD is rare. Specifically, UCD exclusively in the spleen is extremely rare, with only 2 cases described in the literature to date. Here, we describe an asymptomatic 75-year-old man with a 5.7 cm × 4.5 cm sized heterogenous enhanced mass located in the spleen. He underwent surgical resection for diagnosis and treatment. A pathologic examination indicated the hyaline-vascular type of CD. In this patient, the preoperative diagnosis was difficult to determine, and therefore, invasive procedures were required.

Retroperitoneal Castleman's disease

A 56-year-old postmenopausal woman with a history of colon cancer status after left hemicolectomy presented to our institution with abdominal pain, early satiety, and weight loss. Computerized tomography scan showed a large, enhancing, fat-containing mass displacing the left kidney posteriolaterally suspicious for a retroperitoneal liposarcoma. The lesion was also encasing the renal hilum. The patient underwent a wide excision of the mass as well as a radical nephrectomy and lymph node dissection by means of a thoracoabdominal approach. Final pathology revealed a large lymphatic mass consistent with Castleman's disease.

Imaging findings of Castleman disease of the abdomen and pelvis

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristic features of Castleman disease in the abdomen and pelvis as suggested by imaging findings in order to deepen the recognition and understanding of this rare disease.

METHODS

A group of ten patients with pathologically proven Castleman disease in the abdomen (n = 9) and pelvis (n = 1) were included in this study. Patients were 18 approximately 56-year-old (mean = 40); seven of them were men and three were women. Imaging findings (CT&MRI, n = 4; only CT, n = 4; only MRI, n = 2) were retrospectively reviewed and correlated with clinical and pathologic findings.

RESULTS

The lesions were divided into those with localized Castleman (n = 9) and disseminated Castleman (n = 1). The pathologic subtype of all nine cases of localized disease was hyaline vascular with six patients showing a solitary mass and three having a single dominant mass surrounded by small satellite nodules. On nonenhanced CT images, the lesions were manifested as homogeneous masses of soft tissue attenuation, which was isoattenuated relative to normal muscle. On MRI, the lesions were isointense or slightly hypointense compared with that of normal muscle on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. After intravenous injection of contrast media, most of the masses (7/9) showed marked enhancement and slow washout with the degree of enhancement approaching that of the large arteries. And in the interior of four cases of larger masses (>5 cm) was observed fissured and radial patterns in both low-density area on CT and low-signal area on MRI. These patterns were pathologically proved to be fibrous. The pathological subtype of a sole disseminated case was plasma-cell type, where imaging findings showed a lining of well defined, sharply enhanced soft-tissue nodules in retroperitoneal zone.

CONCLUSION

Imaging findings of Castleman disease in the abdomen and pelvis are closely related to pathological type diagnosed. The characteristic features of localized and hyaline vascular type of Castleman disease include a solitary mass or a dominant mass surrounded with small satellite nodules, and high enhancement and slow washout with the degree of enhancement approaches that of large arteries. The presence of central areas of fibrosis of the larger tumors is one of the characteristic features of this disease.

Surgical management of abdominal and retroperitoneal Castleman's disease

BACKGROUND

Abdominal and retroperitoneal Castleman's disease could present either as a localized disease or as a systemic disease. Castleman's disease is a lymphoid hyperplasia related to human Herpes virus type 8, which could have an aggressive behavior, similar to that of malignant lymphoid neoplasm mainly with the systemic type, or a benign one in its localized form.

METHODS

The authors report two cases of localized Castleman's disease in the retroperitoneal space and review the current and recent progress in the knowledge of this atypical disease.

CASES PRESENTATION

The two patients were young healthy women presenting with a hyper vascular peri-renal mass suggestive of malignant tumor. Both have been resected in-toto. One of them had an extensive resection with nephrectomy, while the second had a kidney preserving surgery. Pathological examination revealed localized Castleman's disease and surgical margins were free of disease. Postoperative course was uneventful, and after more than 5-years of follow-up no recurrences have been observed.

CONCLUSION

Localized Castleman's disease should be considered when facing a solid hypervascular abdominal or retroperitoneal mass. A better knowledge of this disorder and its characteristic would help surgeon to avoid unnecessarily extensive resection for this benign disorder when dealing with abdominal or retroperitoneal tumors. Surgical resection is curative for the localized form, when complete, while splenectomy could be indicated for the systemic form.

Surgical management of abdominal and retroperitoneal Castleman's disease

BACKGROUND

Abdominal and retroperitoneal Castleman's disease could present either as a localized disease or as a systemic disease. Castleman's disease is a lymphoid hyperplasia related to human Herpes virus type 8, which could have an aggressive behavior, similar to that of malignant lymphoid neoplasm mainly with the systemic type, or a benign one in its localized form.

METHODS

The authors report two cases of localized Castleman's disease in the retroperitoneal space and review the current and recent progress in the knowledge of this atypical disease.

CASES PRESENTATION

The two patients were young healthy women presenting with a hyper vascular peri-renal mass suggestive of malignant tumor. Both have been resected in-toto. One of them had an extensive resection with nephrectomy, while the second had a kidney preserving surgery. Pathological examination revealed localized Castleman's disease and surgical margins were free of disease. Postoperative course was uneventful, and after more than 5-years of follow-up no recurrences have been observed.

CONCLUSION

Localized Castleman's disease should be considered when facing a solid hypervascular abdominal or retroperitoneal mass. A better knowledge of this disorder and its characteristic would help surgeon to avoid unnecessarily extensive resection for this benign disorder when dealing with abdominal or retroperitoneal tumors. Surgical resection is curative for the localized form, when complete, while splenectomy could be indicated for the systemic form.

Preoperative embolization as an adjunct to the operative management of mediastinal Castleman disease

Castleman disease usually presents in children as a localized mass with prominent feeding vessels. The mainstay of treatment of Castleman disease is surgical resection; historically, resection is associated with excessive blood loss. These tumors are well known to have large feeding vessels and, thus, are amenable to preoperative arteriography with embolization. The authors present a case of Castleman disease treated with preoperative embolization as an adjunct to operative management.