Head and neck immunoglobulin G4 related disease: systematic review

The "great imitator": IgG4-related disease of the oral cavity. Two case reports and scoping review

This study aimed to review the lesser-known intraoral manifestations of immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD). In this paper we report an unprecedented case of oral IgG4-RD mimicking angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE), and another case presenting as plasma cell gingivitis. We then performed a scoping review of published cases of IgG4-RD involving the oral cavity. The following data were collected for each case: age, sex, intraoral site(s) involved, clinical appearance, imaging features, serum IgG4 values, histopathology, treatment, and follow-up duration. Fifty-one cases of oral IgG4-RD were published in literature. The hard palate and jaw bones were the two main locations reported, while the histological identification of a IgG4/IgG plasma cells ratio ≥40% was fundamental for diagnosis. Conversely, the pathological features of storiform fibrosis and obliterative phlebitis were not common. Future reports regarding oral IgG4-RD should report clear adherence to the recognized international diagnostic criteria of the disease.

Oral and maxillofacial manifestations of IgG4-related disease: A clinicopathological study

BACKGROUND

IgG4-related disease is a fibroinflammatory and immune-mediated condition, which has extremely variable clinical manifestations. In this study, we aim to investigate the clinicopathological features of IgG4-related disease involving the oral and maxillofacial region.

METHODS

Cases of IgG4-related disease manifesting in the oral and maxillofacial region were retrieved from three Brazilian institutions. Clinical and serological data were obtained from the patients' medical charts, while microscopic and immunohistochemical findings were revised by oral pathologists. Diagnosis followed the American College of Rheumatology/European League against Rheumatism criteria.

RESULTS

Seven patients diagnosed with IgG4-related disease were included in this study. Women were affected in all analysed cases, with a mean age of 55.4 years. Two patients presented with the clinical involvement of more than one oral and maxillofacial anatomic site. Therefore, our sample comprised nine oral and maxillofacial anatomic sites affected by IgG4-related disease. The submandibular gland was affected in four cases, the tongue and the parotid gland in two cases each, and the palate in one case. In a few cases, exploratory lower lip biopsy was used as a diagnostic approach. A moderate-to-severe lymphoid infiltrate containing plasma cells and lymphocytes, with an increased IgG4/IgG ratio, was common. Treatment varied and steroids were the most frequently used (57.4%). Six patients remained alive, while one died from unknown causes.

CONCLUSION

Although major salivary glands are commonly affected by IgG4-related disease, the oral cavity can also be involved, and lower lip biopsy may be an auxiliary diagnostic tool.

Ophthalmic involvement disparities in clinical characteristics of IgG4-related disease: a retrospective study of 573 patients

Purpose

To investigate the clinical manifestations of orbital involvement in a large cohort of Chinese patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD).

Methods

A total of 573 patients with IgG4-related disease were included. We described and compared the demographic, clinical, laboratory and histopathologic findings from 314 patients with IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD) and 259 with extra-ophthalmic IgG4-RD.

Results

Male predominance was found significant in extra-ophthalmic IgG4-RD only. Patients with IgG4-ROD showed younger age at diagnosis and longer duration from onset till diagnosis. In patients with extra-ophthalmic IgG4-RD, the most commonly involved extra-ophthalmic organ was pancreas; while in IgG4-ROD patients, salivary gland was most frequently affected. Multivariate analysis exhibited IgG4-ROD was associated with allergy history, higher serum IgG4/IgG ratio, multiple organs involvement and sialoadenitis. Orbital images were reviewed in 173 (55.1%) IgG4-ROD patients. Fifty-one (29.5%) patients had multiple lesions. Lacrimal gland involvement was detected in 151 (87.3%) patients, followed by extraocular muscles (40, 23.1%), other orbital soft tissue (40, 23.1%) and trigeminal nerve (8, 4.6%). Biopsy was performed from various organs in 390 cases. A dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and fibrosis were the main feature in orbital specimens. Storiform fibrosis and obliterative phlebitis were absent in lacrimal gland.

Conclusions

Lacrimal gland involvement was the most common orbital manifestation of IgG4-ROD. Patients with IgG4-ROD showed different characteristic in demographic, clinical, laboratory findings compared to patients with extra-ophthalmic IgG4-RD. These features might indicate potential differences in the pathogenesis of these two subgroups of IgG4-RD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12886-021-02210-z.

Imaging of IgG4-related disease in the extracranial head and neck

PURPOSE

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly defined fibro-inflammatory multisystemic condition defined by a triad of diagnostic criteria based on clinical presentation, biochemical and histopathological findings. Whereas some subsites of this disease have been well described in the literature so far (e.g. pancreas, kidneys, retroperitoneum, salivary glands), more recently identified anatomical sites of involvement in the head and neck are less well understood (e.g. nose, paranasal sinuses).

METHOD

This pictorial review details the imaging appearances of extracranial IgG4-RD in the Head & Neck. Multimodality imaging appearance and features are presented, with reference to the published literature to date.

RESULTS

Following a subsite-based approach, we present both the most common and the more rarely encountered imaging patterns of IgG4-RD in the extracranial head and neck, along with the relevant differential diagnoses to consider. Our institutional experience not only cements what is already known in the existing literature on this topic, but also reveals new imaging features of IgG4-RD, notably in the sinonasal tract.

CONCLUSIONS

This pictorial review of extracranial head & neck IgG4-RD will enable radiologists to recognise the features of this condition and propose it as a differential diagnosis to include alongside other probable entities. It establishes the place of the radiologist in the diagnosis and management of IgG4-RD.

Orbital Rosai-Dorfman disease initially diagnosed as IgG4-related disease: a case report

Inflammatory orbital lesions include a broad list of diagnoses, many of them with overlapping clinical and radiographic features. They often present a diagnostic conundrum, even to the most experienced orbital specialist, thus placing considerable weight on surgical biopsy and histopathological analysis. However, histopathological diagnosis is also inherently challenging due to the rarity of these lesions and the overlaps in histologic appearance among distinct disease entities. We herein present the case of an adolescent male with a subacutely progressive orbital mass that generated a significant diagnostic dilemma. Early orbital biopsy was consistent with a benign fibro-inflammatory lesion, but corticosteroid therapy was ineffective in halting disease progression. After an initial substantial surgical debulking, histopathological analysis revealed several key features consistent with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a systemic fibro-inflammatory process typically accompanied by multifocal tumor-like lesions. Surprisingly, within months, there was clear evidence of clinical and radiographic disease progression despite second-line rituximab treatment, prompting a second surgical debulking. This final specimen displayed distinctive features of Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by uncontrolled histiocytic proliferation. Interestingly, certain features of this re-excision specimen were still reminiscent of IgG4-RD, which not only reflects the difficulty in differentiating RDD from IgG4-RD in select cases, but also illustrates that these diagnoses may exist along a spectrum that likely reflects a common underlying pathogenetic mechanism. This case emphasizes the importance of surgical biopsy or resection and histopathological analysis in diagnosing—and, ultimately, treating—rare, systemic inflammatory diseases involving the orbit, and, furthermore, highlights the shared histopathological features between RDD and IgG4-RD.