Erdheim–Chester disease

Erdheim–Chester disease
Classification and external resources
Specialty	oncology
ICD-10	C96.1
ICD-9-CM	202.3
DiseasesDB	29792
MeSH	D031249
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Erdheim–Chester disease (also known as Erdheim–Chester syndrome or polyostotic sclerosing histiocytosis) is a rare disease characterized by the abnormal multiplication of a specific type of white blood cells called histiocytes, or tissue macrophages (technically, this disease is termed a non-Langerhans-cell histiocytosis). Usually, onset is in middle age. The disease involves an infiltration of lipid-laden macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, an inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes and histiocytes in the bone marrow, and a generalized sclerosis of the long bones.

Approximately 500 cases have been reported in the literature to date. ECD affects predominantly adults, with a mean age of 53 years. Long bone involvement is almost universal in ECD patients and is bilateral and symmetrical in nature. More than 50% of cases have some sort of extraskeletal involvement. This can include kidney, skin, brain and lung involvement, and less frequently retroorbital tissue, pituitary gland and heart involvement is observed.

Bone pain is the most frequent of all symptoms associated with ECD and mainly affects the lower limbs, knees and ankles. The pain is often described as mild but permanent, and juxtaarticular in nature. Exophthalmos occurs in some patients and is usually bilateral, symmetric and painless, and in most cases it occurs several years before the final diagnosis. Recurrent pericardial effusion can be a manifestation, as can morphological changes in adrenal size and infiltration.

A review of 59 case studies by Veyssier-Belot, C et al. in 1996 reported the following symptoms in order of frequency of occurrence:

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