In 1956, Castleman et al. described an entity involving localized mediastinal lymph node hyperplasia that resembled thymoma. Castleman’s disease (CD) has been extended to include two entities: the classical hyaline-vascular (HV) type and the rare plasma cell variant.
In the HV type, numerous lymphoid follicles contain small germinal centers, some of which are depleted lymphocytes and composed of concentrically arranged eosinophilic cells penetrated by small capillaries, so-called hyaline-vascular lesions. Vascular proliferation in the interfollicular area is also present. However, the hyaline-vascular type of germinal center is not specific for CD.
Localization
lymph nodes (nodal Castleman disease)
extranodal Castleman disease
- subcutis of the extremities and trunk (15105643)
- skeletal muscles of the extremities and trunk (15105643)
- mediastinal and retroperitoneal soft tissue
Synopisis
hyaline vascular type (HVCD)
plasmacytic type
mixed pattern
Associations
POEMS syndrome
myasthenia gravis
paraneoplastic pemphigus
Hodgkin disease
follicular dendritic cell dysplasia
follicular dendritic cell sarcoma