Castleman's giant lymph node hyperplasia

Abstract

Castleman (1954) described a patient with an anterior mediastinal mass which on removal proved to be a benign hyperplasia of lymph nodes, with a distinctive histological appearance. Since then involvement of nodes in other areas has been reported. They may occur anywhere along the lymphatic chain but most (70%) are found in the mediastinum (Keller et al, 1972). In the case descriptions to date calcification of the involved lymph nodes has not been a feature. The following is a case in which calcification was a prominent feature and which because it occurred in the perihilar region was thought to be a tracheobronchial cyst, a partially calcified tuberculous abscess or a hamartoma.