A case of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis with Multisystemic Involvement in an Adult Patient

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare group of idiopathic diseases characterized by abnormal proliferation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells called histiocytes. It is more common in childhood, but in the literature, some adult cases have been reported. For several reasons, the disease is more familiar to pediatricians than it is to physicians handling adult cases;therefore, the diagnosis of adult cases is often delayed or missed. The clinical course of LCH is variable, ranging from a self-healing solitary bone lesion to a widely disseminated life-threatening disease. The diagnosis of LCH should be based on histologic and immunophenotypic examination of perilesional skin. In this report, we present a case of LCH in a 66-year-old woman with bone, skin, and pituitary gland involvement; this case emphasizes that a patient with LCH should undergo careful multidisciplinary evaluation.