Giant lymph node hyperplasia a diagnostic dilemma in the neck

Abstract

Giant lymph node hyperplasia (GLNH) or Castleman's disease is a rare pathological entity commonly presenting as a solitary mediastinal tumour (unifocal variant), although other anatomical sites have been reported including the head and neck, abdomen and axilla. Though the head and neck is the second commonest site for this lesion, only 60 cases [1,2] have been reported in the literature. Pre-operative diagnosis of the unifocal variant can be difficult as routine investigations carried out in the clinic setting are often inconclusive. A multicentric form of this disease with a poorer prognosis in comparison to the unifocal lesion has been described by Gaba et al. in 1978 [3]. We present a case of an unusually large, slow growing, asymptomatic, unifocal variant of this tumour restricted to the neck which underwent successful surgical excision. A review of the literature, histopathological characteristics and differential diagnosis is also presented.