Abstract

Thyroid gland involvement of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is extremely rare in both systemic and isolated disease. The role of viral infection in LCH development is not yet fully understood. Although several viruses are proposed as etiologic factors, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), they seem to play a bystander role in LCH. A 29-year old female patient with a prior history of multisystemic LCH (pituitary gland and skull bone), presented with a thyroid nodule. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy and the histological examination revealed nodular lesions composed of sheets and clusters of histiocytes in the inflammatory background. The histiocytes stained positive for S-100 and CD1a and were negative for HHV-8, cytomegalovirus, and VE1 (anti-BRAFV600E) on immunohistochemistry. The EBER in situ hybridization for EBV showed frequent positive-stained cells. The conventional PCR analysis for EBV was positive and qPCR analysis confirmed a significant DNA copy number difference (p = 0.02) between the tumor and adjacent non-neoplastic thyroid tissue. PCR analysis for HHV-6, HPV, HSV was negative in both tumor and benign samples. In conclusion, the presented case showed a rare thyroid involvement by LCH associated with EBV infection, which has not been reported before. Further studies are required to investigate a possible etiologic link between EBV infection and LCH.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.