Castleman's disease: a clinicopathologic study of 12 cases

Castleman's disease observed in 12 Thai patients was investigated. The male to female ratio was 1:3. Peak prevalence was in the third and fourth decades. It is suggested that the disease in Orientals tends to have extrathoracic mass more often than in Caucasians. Solitary non-tender slow growing mass was the most common symptom. Generalized lymphadenopathy in association with cutaneous plasmocytoma was noted in one example while asymptmatic pelvic lesion in a patient was discovered incidentally. Histologically, the hyaline-vascular type was found in 8 instances, the remainders were plasma-cell type. Surgery was effective for localized lesions while systemic form could benefit from chemotherapy.