Hungarian experience with Langerhans cell histiocytosis in childhood

The Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) in children is relatively rare and the long-term analysis of therapy results has not been done yet in Hungary. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, clinical features, prognostic risk factors, and treatment results of children's LCH in Hungary in a 20-year period. Children less than 18 years of age with newly diagnosed LCH in Hungary were entered in this study. Clinical data of all children with LCH were reported to the National Childhood Cancer Registry in Hungary from 1981 to 2000. The clinical files were collected and abstracted for information regarding age at diagnosis, gender, disease characteristics, treatment, and outcome of treatment. Median follow-up duration of surviving patients is 10.98 years. Between January 1981 and December 2000, 111 children under 18 years of age were newly diagnosed with LCH in Hungary. The annual incidence of LCH in children younger than 18 years of age was 2.24/million children. The male-female ratio was 1.36:1; the mean age was 4 years 11 months. Thirty-eight children had localized disease and in 73 cases systemic dissemination was found already at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-two patients were treated only by local surgery, 7 by surgery with local irradiation, and 5 children got only local irradiation. In 2 cases remission was achieved with local steroid administration. Seventy-five patients received chemotherapy. In the 20 years of the study 14 children died, 9 due to the progression of the disease. Sixteen patients had relapse with a mean of 2.16 ± 1.29 years after the first diagnosis. Three patients with relapse got chemotherapy generally used in lymphoma and remission was achieved. The overall survival of all patients (n = 111) was 88.3 ± 3.1% at 5 years and 87.3 ± 3.2% at 10 and 20 years. Childhood LCH is a well-treatable disease and the survival rate is high. Even disseminated diseases have a quite good prognosis in childhood.     

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Langerhans cell histiocytosis: case report and review of the literature

Abstract:  The prognosis in children with LCH who do not respond to the conventional therapies is very poor. SCT may be a new approach. However, there are limited data about the results of the transplantations. Herein we report a patient with refractory multisystem LCH who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and is disease and treatment free 54 months after transplantation. Further studies are required to establish the role of SCT in refractory LCH.     

朗格罕细胞组织细胞增生症合并恶性肿瘤2例并文献复习

目的总结和探讨朗格罕细胞组织细胞增生症（1angerhans cell histiocytosis,LCH）合并恶性肿瘤的类型、发病机制、两者之间的关系及治疗。方法对我院收治的2例朗格罕细胞组织细胞增生症合并恶性肿瘤患儿的病历资料进行回顾性总结并复习相关文献。结果2例患儿均为LCH合并神经母细胞瘤,两病同时诊断,患儿年龄均〈2岁,联合化疗及手术切除治疗预后良好。国外文献报道在大部分LCH和淋巴瘤、肺癌相关的病例中,LCH发生在确诊恶性肿瘤后的2年内,且和原发恶性肿瘤有紧密的病理联系,表明瘤细胞可诱发朗格罕细胞增生。而大多数LCH-白血病和LCH-其它实体瘤患者恶性肿瘤发生在LCH诊断后的较长时间,化疗继发恶性肿瘤可能性大。本文中报导的2例两种疾病同时诊断,它们之间的相互关系尚不明确。结论LCH合并恶性肿瘤临床比较罕见,LCH可能是特殊的树突细胞对恶性肿瘤反应增生的结果,或恶性肿瘤继发于LCH化疗,或者是两者独立存在,应以治疗恶性肿瘤为主,可兼顾LCH化疗。     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis in the adult

A study of 47 well-documented patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) showed a slight female preponderance, with onset as late as the ninth decade. The skin was the commonest site of presentation, but pulmonary, and bone involvement was frequent. Patients with single-site disease did best. The worst prognosis was seen in the elderly or those with organ dysfunction. A high incidence of associated malignant disease was seen, which could precede, be coincidental with, or occur after a diagnosis of LCH. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis mimicking molluscum contagiosum: A case series

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a disorder characterized by accumulation of Langerhans‐like cells in one or various organs. A correct staging work‐up is essential since there are multiorgan presentations with a poor prognosis. We report three patients with LCH skin lesions mimicking molluscum contagiosum in association with both high and low risk organ involvement. This peculiar cutaneous presentation can be a clue for the diagnosis of LCH, a disease with potentially severe systemic involvement.     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis in a premature baby presenting with skin-isolated disease: case report and literature review

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) in premature babies is extremely rare as is a vesicular skin rash, while gastrointestinal involvement is associated with a poor outcome. We report a case of LCH in a premature baby presented with isolated vesiculo-papulo-macular skin lesions and insidiously developed gastrointestinal symptoms, haematological and severe pulmonary involvement. We also reviewed a few cases of LCH in premature babies in the English language medical literature. LCH in preterm babies appears to be a severe systemic disease, usually lethal in-utero or post delivery. CONCLUSION: Careful observation should be applied to newborns with skin-only Langerhans cell histiocytosis in order to identify in time progression to potentially fatal systemic disease.     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis and acute leukemia: Unusual association in two cases

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a non-malignant disorder, whether localized or disseminated, and usually has a favourable prognosis. A possible relationship between LCH and neoplastic diseases has not been assessed up to now even if a few cases have been recorded. We report two new cases of acute leukemia in children with LCH. The first child had acute lymphoblastic leukemia after untreated LCH; the second developed acute promyelocytic leukemia after LCH treated with vinblastine and etoposide. To our knowledge, this is the first case of secondary leukemia after exposure to an epipodophyllotoxin derivative in a child with benign disease. Cooperative studies of large numbers of LCH patients are needed to evaluate a possible association between LCH and acute leukemia, and to identify common risk factors or predisposing agents if such be present. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Haploidentical parental hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Children with MS‐LCH that fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy have poor outcomes. HSCT represents a potential salvage approach. It has been applied in over 50 cases in recent years. HSCT can achieve greater disease control than chemotherapy, but it carries a high risk of transplant‐related mortality; thus, the haploidentical parental HSCT is used infrequently in pediatric refractory LCH. We report the first successful haploidentical parental HSCT, with no T‐cell depletion, in two girls, aged 26 months and five months, with refractory MS‐LCH. The mothers were donors with 5/6 and 4/6 HLA matches, respectively. The conditioning regimen included busulfan + cyclophosphamide + etoposide + antithymocyte‐globulin ± fludarabine; the GVHD prophylaxis was based on cyclosporine + methotrexate ± mycophenolate‐mofetil ± zenapax. In both cases, the stem cells were sourced from peripheral blood and BM, which included CD34+ cells (13.17 × 10⁶/kg and 40.23 × 10⁶/kg, respectively). These patients survived and showed no signs of disease activity in 54‐ and 44‐month post‐HSCT follow‐ups. Our results indicated that, for patients that fail chemotherapy delivered early in the disease, but do not show organ dysfunction progression, it may be possible to achieve successful haploidentical parental HSCT with a strong myeloablative regimen.     

A new clinical score for disease activity in Langerhans cell histiocytosis

OBJECTIVE: To develop an objective tool for assessing disease activity in patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). METHOD: Scoring system was developed and applied to a database containing information on 612 patients. RESULTS: At diagnosis, the score distribution was highly asymmetrical: the score was between 0 and 2 in 74% of cases, 3-6 in 16%, 7-10 in 3%, and more than 10 in 6%. The 5-year mortality rates were 1, 4.4, and 43.4%, respectively, among patients with initial scores of 0-2, 3-6, and >6. Stability or an increase of the score at 6 weeks was highly predictive of death among patients with initial scores above 6, while score stability had no significant impact on vital outcome among patients with low or moderate scores at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This LCH disease activity score provides an objective tool for assessing disease severity, both at diagnosis and during follow-up and treatment.     

朗格罕斯细胞组织细胞增多症发病机制及治疗

朗格罕斯细胞组织细胞增多症是一种少见病,大量朗格罕斯细胞组织聚集于多种脏器,导致不同的临床表现,但其发病机制尚未完全阐明.文章将该病发病机制及治疗作一阐述,以提高临床医师对该病的认识.     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis infiltration into pancreas and kidney

An 18-month-old male presented with a swelling of the neck for 2 months. A presumptive diagnosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) was made on fine needle aspiration cytology from the lymph node. The child received chemotherapy. He remained well for around 10 months, when he represented with loose stools, cough, and respiratory distress. His condition deteriorated over a few hours culminating in death. A partial autopsy revealed LCH infiltration in liver, pancreas, and kidneys along with bronchopneumonia. The pancreatic and renal infiltration by LCH is extremely rare.     

Biliary wall calcification in Langerhans cell histiocytosis: report of two cases

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a disorder of unknown pathogenesis affecting one or more organs (unifocal or disseminated form) due to clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells. Liver involvement is more frequent in the disseminated form and the radiological findings of end-stage liver disease due to LCH are similar to those of sclerosing cholangitis. We present the multidetector CT findings in two children with LCH liver involvement and the unique finding of calcification of the biliary wall.     

Langerhans cell histiocytosis in neonates

BACKGROUND: To study the incidence, clinical patterns, course, and outcome of neonatal Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). PROCEDURE: Retrospective analysis of the data of the Austrian/German/Swiss/Netherlands LCH Study Group. The incidence of neonatal LCH was estimated with the data from the population-based German Childhood Cancer Registry. RESULTS: The estimated incidence of neonatal LCH (LCH diagnosed within 28 days after birth) in the population-based registry was 1-2/1,000,000. In 61/1,069 trial patients (6%), the first disease manifestations were observed in the neonatal period. However, in only 20 of them, the diagnosis was established within this period. There was a preponderance of multisystem (MS)-LCH 36/61 (59%). Cutaneous changes were the most common initial manifestation in both, single-system (SS)-LCH (92%), and MS-LCH (86%). In 72% of the MS-LCH patients, risk organs (ROs) were involved at diagnosis as well. The probability of survival at 5 years was 94% in SS-LCH and 57% in MS-LCH, which is significantly lower than in older age groups. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the available literature, neonatal LCH is characterized by a clear predominance of MS-LCH. Cutaneous changes are the most common initial manifestation in neonates with both SS-LCH and MS-LCH. Prompt evaluation of disease extent upon diagnosis is mandatory for risk-adapted treatment. The disease course is unpredictable upon diagnosis. Close monitoring for disease progression is mandatory if isolated cutaneous LCH is managed by the "wait and see" approach. Neonates with MS-LCH, especially those with RO involvement at diagnosis, have less favorable prognosis compared to infants and older children, and need systemic therapy.     

Concomitant nodal involvement by Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Hodgkin's lymphoma

A 10‐year‐old girl with a family history of Hodgkin's lymphoma presented with a 2 month history of cervical lymphadenopathy and weight loss. Biopsy indicated concomitant nodal involvement by Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Such an association is rare, especially so in children, but is not an isolated phenomenon, thereby prompting the question of whether Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a reactive or a neoplastic process.     

Concurrent Langerhans cell histiocytosis and nephroblastoma

Both Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and nephroblastoma are rare in children. We report herein the first case of a patient with both diseases concurrently. A 2‐year‐old female presented with bone pain and swelling of the right humerus. As a result of the local incision biopsy, she was diagnosed as LCH. A nephroblastoma of the left kidney was discovered during her staging work‐up. After complete resection of the nephroblastoma, she received standard chemoradiotherapy for nephroblastoma. She is alive without relapse 14 months after initial presentation. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:662–664. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Intralesional steroids in Langerhans cell histiocytosis of bone

Langerhans cell histiocytosis may involve single or multiple organ systems. Bone involvement is the most common feature. We have examined retrospectively the effects of 20 intralesional injections of steroids into bone in seven patients seen at our department from 1988 to 1993. Most of these injections (75%) relieved the symptoms, and no side-effects were observed. However, injections into the jaw were seldom effective. Our results suggest that the dose of the steroids administered is of importance.