Treatment of Xanthoma disseminatum - a systematic literature review

Xanthoma disseminatum is a rare disease from the spectrum of non-Langerhans cell histiocytoses, which can be categorized into three types and is sometimes associated with systemic involvement. Due to the its rarity, there are no standardized treatment guidelines for this disease, making treatment in everyday clinical practice more difficult. The aim of this study was therefore to summarize the therapeutic experience of the last 22 years by conducting a systematic literature review and thus generate an overview of the various treatment options. A systematic literature review on the topic of xanthoma disseminatum and applied treatment strategies was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE database for the period from 26 June 2002 to 26 June 2024. The literature search resulted in 38 publications, 19 of which were included in the review. The therapeutic approaches of the studies analyzed can be divided into immunosuppressive, cytostatic-based, lipid-lowering, surgical, UV radiation, and laser-based therapeutic approaches. Therapy with cladribine was reported most frequently. The current data is mainly based on case reports and case series, which are presented and summarized in this review. It can therefore be used as a basis for treatment decisions.