An unusual presentation of Castleman's disease: A case report

Abstract

Background: Castleman's disease (CD), a rare condition of uncertain etiology, involves a massive proliferation of lymphoid tissues and typically presents as mediastinal masses. We describe a patient with CD who presented with diffuse adenopathy involving the inguinal, paratracheal, retroperitoneal, axillary, and pelvic regions. Case presentation: Case report describing presentation, work-up, management and clinical course of a patient with Castleman's disease in the setting of a county hospital in metropolitan area. Patient was treated with chemotherapeutic agents. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this represents the first case of CD involving an HIV-positive patient with a negative Human Herpes Virus (HHV-8) viral panel. Because patients with similar clinical histories are at high risk for the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Kaposi sarcoma, regular medical surveillance is recommended. © 2003 Izuchukwu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.