A 47-Year-Old Man With Rosai-Dorfman Disease

Abstract

Rosai-Dorfman is a rare and benign disease with unknown etiology, characterized by histiocytosis and emperipolesis, generally associated with lymphadenopathy. It is mainly observed in Caucasians and African children and young adults. A 47-year-old man, Caucasian, with a personal history of chronic alcoholism presented with two lymph nodes with progressive growth over a period of 6 months, one located in the pre-auricular region with 2 cm and another in the sub-mandibular region with 3 cm. Clinical examination showed two discrete, non-tender, painless and immobile nodes. Biopsy of the nodes was performed. Emperipolesis and cells expressing positive immunoreactivity for protein S-100, CD1a and CD68 were observed making the diagnosis of Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD). RDD is a benign pathology, self-limited and no special treatment is needed in most cases.




J Med Cases. 2014;5(6):347-350
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1599w