Lack of evidence of cytomegalovirus infection in patients with HIV-negative castleman's disease: immunohistochemistry analysis

ABSTRACT

Castleman's disease [CD] is a rare atypical lymphoproliferative disorder. The pathogenesis of CD is still not clear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible involvement of cytomegalovirus [CMV] in the pathogenesis of CD. Immunohistochemistry for CMV was performed on archival formalin-fixed, paraffin wax embedded biopsy specimens from 25 cases of CD without human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection at The Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network [Toronto, Canada], King Abdulaziz University Hospital [KAUH] and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre [KFSHRC], Jeddah, Saudi Arabia]. The clinical histories were reviewed. Pathology sections [4 micro m] were stained using CMV monoclonal antibody [NCL-CMV pp65]. The assays were performed at the Department of Pathology, KAUH in 2008. The age range was 16-90 years. There were 14 males and 11 females. Twenty-one patients had the localized form of CD and 4 patients had the multicentric form. Microscopic evaluation did not show any evidence of CMV inclusion. All of the cases show negative staining for CMV immunohistochemistry. CMV is unlikely to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of cases of HIV-negative CD. These results are consistent with the rare available reports in the literature that discuss this relation