Retrospective Study of Castleman's Disease:A Report of Fourteen Cases and Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE To enhance the understanding of Castleman’s disease (CD), and to improve its diagnosis and management. METHODS Clinical features and related information on diagnosis and treatment of 14 cases of CD were retrospectively analyzed and the literature reviewed. RESULTS Based on the clinical classification, localized CD was found in 8 of the 14 cases. Both the results of lymph node biopsy and histopathology indicated they were a hyaline-vascular type. The multicentric type CD was detected in 6 cases, among which 4 were plasma cell type and 2 mixed type based on histopathologic examination. There were a variety of clinical situa-tions in the 14 cases, with a lack of specificity. They were previously misdiag-nosed as other diseases, and final diagnosis depended on a histopathologic examination. The 8 patients with localized CD underwent excision, without recurrence up to now. The 6 patients with multicentric-type CD were treated with glucocorticoids or combined chemotherapy, and all achieved remission. CONCLUSIONS CD has complicated clinical manifestations and is difficult to diagnose. Lymph node biopsy is important for early diagnosis. An optimal curative effect can be achieved with a suitable therapeutic option, based on histopathology and clinical classification.