Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Weekly clinicopathological exercises. Case 5-2002. A 15-year-old boy with a retro-orbital mass and impaired vision

Factors associated with recurrence and therapeutic strategies for sinonasal Rosai-Dorfman disease

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors associated with the recurrence of Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted a review of the English-language literature published between 1969 and 2010 on the recurrence of and treatment strategies for sinonasal RDD.

RESULTS

To our knowledge, 126 cases of RDD have been reported to date. Of the 126 patients, 32 (25.4%) had no recurrence or were alive with no evidence of disease; remission occurred in only 1 patient (0.7%); 69 patients (54.8%) had a recurrent, persistent, or progressive course; and 6 patients (4.8%) died from the disease. In patients with recurrent, persistent, and progressive disease, there was no significant tendency for lymph node involvement.

CONCLUSION

Sinonasal RDD is generally described as benign. However, recurrence and fatal outcome have been reported. Our results suggest that the initial modality may affect the recurrence of RDD.