[Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia or Kimura disease?]

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) and Kimur's disease are two rarely occurring and mutually very similar, yet independent nosological units. For the frequency of similar features these diseases were long considered to be modifications of one disease. In the last years most authors considered these diseases to be independent entities with certain specific clinical and morphological features. The case of a 76-year white man, suffering from occurrence of subcutaneous tumor formations in various part of the body for the period of six years, is described. Six years after the first signs of the disease, swelling of eyelids on the right eye with palpable resistance under the upper temporal margin of eye socket developed. A similar finding also developed on the left side eight months later. The tumors were removed by surgery and subjected to histological examination. One year later a unilateral relapse developed to be again subjected to surgical treatment and histological examination. In the first two orbital excisions the tumor infiltrate was in topical connection with structure of the tear gland, the third excision did not contain such structures. The histological diagnosis was established as ALHE in spite of some common features with the Kimur's disease. The diagnosis of ALHE was especially supported by absence of the formation of lymphatic follicles, absent fibrotization in the infiltrate and epithelium-like or even histiocyte-like appearance of proliferating endothelia, which formed minute vascular lumina. A substantial exceptionality in the occurrence of the Kimur's disease in white Europeans further supported the diagnosis of ALHE. Our own experience indicates that both units mutually overlap even in features considered to be of distinctly different character. A question arises, whether the strict division of these two nosological units is really possible in practice with unequivocal certainty.