Isolated leptomeningeal Castleman's disease with viral particles in the follicular dendritic cells

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1998 Nov;122(11):1026-9.

Abstract

To our knowledge, five cases of Castleman's disease involving only the central nervous system have been reported previously. We report a sixth case, which occurred in a 47-year-old woman with a 3-month history of headaches and a large superior frontal lobe mass on neuroimaging. Excisional biopsy revealed confluent lymphoid nodular areas with multiple well-developed germinal centers surrounded by concentrically layered proliferations of small B lymphocytes typical of Castleman's disease. Ultrastructural study found 100-nm virallike particles within follicular dendritic cells as well as intercellular spaces. These particles were suggestive of a D-type retrovirus. The patient underwent postoperative radiotherapy and was neurologically normal 3 months after surgery.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Betaretrovirus / ultrastructure*
  • Brain Diseases / pathology
  • Brain Diseases / virology*
  • Castleman Disease / pathology
  • Castleman Disease / virology*
  • Dendritic Cells / ultrastructure
  • Dendritic Cells / virology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Meninges / ultrastructure
  • Meninges / virology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Retroviridae Infections / pathology*
  • Retroviridae Infections / virology
  • Tumor Virus Infections / pathology*
  • Tumor Virus Infections / virology