Castleman disease
Meaning of Castleman disease: Castleman disease is a rare disorder of lymph node tissue that ranges from a single, localized growth to a systemic form affecting the whole body.
Definition of Castleman disease
Castleman disease is a rare disorder in which lymph node tissue grows abnormally, producing enlarged lymph nodes that are not cancerous in the way a lymphoma or other blood cancer is. It is divided into two main forms that differ considerably in how they behave and how significantly they affect a person's health.
Unicentric Castleman disease involves a single region of enlarged lymph nodes and generally follows a more limited, localized course. Multicentric Castleman disease instead involves lymph node enlargement in multiple regions of the body and is often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever and fatigue, reflecting broader involvement of the immune system.
Because multicentric Castleman disease behaves in a more widespread and potentially serious way than the unicentric form, despite neither form representing cancer in the strict sense, the distinction between the two guides how each is evaluated and managed.
Used in a sentence
Biopsy of the enlarged lymph node was consistent with Castleman disease.
Good to know
Castleman disease is not cancer in the strict sense, but its multicentric form behaves more like a systemic illness than the localized unicentric form, a distinction that matters considerably for how the disease is evaluated.