Indeterminate cell histiocytosis: a rare histiocytic disorder

Am J Dermatopathol. 1997 Jun;19(3):276-83. doi: 10.1097/00000372-199706000-00014.

Abstract

A 64-year-old woman, otherwise healthy, presented with multiple reddish-brown, slightly yellowish papules on the face and neck, which had developed 3 years earlier. The lesions were painless and nonpruritic and varied in diameter from 1 to 5 mm. Histological and immunohistochemical examination of cutaneous biopsies revealed a diffuse dermal infiltrate composed mainly of histiocytes which expressed both Langerhans cell as well as monocytic/macrophages cell marker characteristics. Electron microscopic studies revealed no Birbeck granules within the cytoplasm of the neoplastic cells, leading to a diagnosis of indeterminate cell histiocytosis. Indeterminate cell histiocytosis is a very rare disease characterized by the proliferation of indeterminate histiocytes which morphologically and immunophenotypically resemble Langerhans cells but lack Birbeck granules.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Histiocytosis / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Skin / ultrastructure