Castleman disease: A comparative analysis of imaging and histopathologic features / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the imaging features of Castleman disease (CD) and its correlation with histopathologic and clinical features. Methods The images of 20 patients with CD were retrospectively reviewed and compared with their clinical and pathological findings. All the patients received CT or MRI plain scan and dynamic enhanced scan. 12 patients underwent CT examination and 8 underwent MRI examination. Results Locations of the lesions were found in the neck (n=6), abdomen and pelvis (n=6), mediastinum (n=3), retroperitoneum (n=2),multiple locations (n=2) and left subclavicular region (n=1). The clinical subtypes included unicentric type (n=17) and multicentric type (n=3). Histopathologic classification was as follows hyaline-vascular type (n=16), plasma cell type (n=3) and mixed cell type (n=1). The lesions were manifested as homogeneous masses and well-defined margins of soft-tissue attenuation on the plain scan, apart from three cases with lobular, three cases with unclear margins, five cases with multiple masses and one case with heterogeneous texture. After contrast administration, 19 cases showed marked or persistent enhancement, one showed slight enhancement; 14 showed homogeneous enhancement, six showed heterogeneous enhancement; and 17 showed enlarged blood vessels within or around the mass. Conclusion Imaging features of CD are closely correlated with its clinical and pathological subtypes. A good knowledge of imaging features can contribute to a better understanding of the lesion before operation and a suitable therapeutic regimen.