Histiocytosis X: rate and pattern of resolution of osseous lesions

• Published in: Radiology Vol. 152; no. 3; p. 679
• Main Authors: Sartoris, D J, Parker, B R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.1984
• Subjects: Bone and Bones - diagnostic imaging; Bone Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Bone Diseases - therapy; Child; Child, Preschool; Combined Modality Therapy; Drug Therapy, Combination; Eosinophilic Granuloma - diagnostic imaging; Eosinophilic Granuloma - therapy; Female; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell - diagnostic imaging; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell - therapy; Humans; Infant; Male; Radiography; Radiotherapy Dosage
• ISSN: 0033-8419
• DOI: 10.1148/radiology.152.3.6611563

Resolution rate and qualitative characteristics of healing were studied in 71 osseous lesions of histiocytosis X. Rates of healing, as assessed planimetrically and by vertebral body-height measurement, did not differ significantly among lesions that were treated with chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy plus radiation, radiation alone, or those that received no treatment. Lesions of Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, multiple eosinophilic granuloma, and solitary eosinophilic granuloma resolved at comparable rates. A trend toward more rapid healing was noted in younger children. Lesions treated with radiation alone showed a greater tendency to resolve with sclerosis, but radiographic healing characteristics did not strictly depend upon specific mode of therapy. These results support the concept of osseous histiocytosis X as a benign self-limited disorder when systemic disease is absent, and they encourage therapeutic conservatism.