These guidelines for the management of patients up to 18 years with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) have been set up by a group of experts involved in the Euro Histio Net project who participated in national or international studies and in peer reviewed publications. Existing guidelines were reviewed and changed where new evidence was available in the literature up to 2012. Data and publications have been ranked according to evidence based medicine and when there was a lack of published data, consensus between experts was sought. Guidelines for diagnosis, initial clinical work-up, and treatment and long-term follow-up of LCH patients are presented.

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Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH): Guidelines for Diagnosis, Clinical Work-Up, and Treatment for Patients Till the Age of 18 Years

Background:The cutaneous presentation of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is very rare and can be highly variable among individuals, which can often lead to a delay in diagnosis.Objective:To dis...

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis

Therapy prolongation improves outcome in multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Improved outcome in multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis is associated with therapy intensification.

Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is an uncommon non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis. We investigated 148 biopsy specimens from 129 patients collected in the Kiel Pediatric Tumor Registry (KPTR) between 1965 and 2001. The clinical, histologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics of JXG were evaluated to gain more and deeper insights into the morphology and clinical behavior of JXG. Conventionally stained lesions were classified into the following morphologic subtypes: early JXG (EJXG), classic JXG (CJXG), transitional JXG (TJXG), or combined lesions with more than one basic pattern (combined JXG). Immunohistochemistry included antibodies against macrophages (Ki-M1P), S-100 protein, CD1a, and factor XIIIa (FXIIIa). Clinical data were obtained by means of a standardized questionnaire. The relative incidence of JXG in the KPTR is 0.52%. The male/female ratio was 1.4:1. The mean age was 22.4 months (median, 5 months; range, 0-244 months). A total of 34.5% of the cases of JXG were congenital, and 71.0% of the lesions were diagnosed within the first year of life. Most cases of cutaneous JXG were solitary (81.0%). Five cases (3.9%) presented with visceral (systemic) involvement. Histologically, CJXG was most frequent (47.2%), followed by EJXG (27.1%) and TJXG (16.0%). A total of 9.7% of the lesions represented combined JXG. Histiocytes, including giant cells, were positive for Ki-M1P (100%) and in most cases for FXIIIa (99%). The CD1a and S-100 protein reactions were generally negative. Clinical and follow-up data showed a generally favorable prognosis with a low relapse rate (7.0%) and even complete involution after incomplete resection. Only 1 of 5 patients with widespread congenital systemic disease died after 34 days. JXG is an uncommon, mostly cutaneous, and prognostically favorable histiocytic tumor of infancy. Simple tumor excision is the therapy for choice except in the very rare systemic JXG, in which multimodal chemotherapy is indicated.

Juvenile xanthogranuloma in childhood and adolescence: a clinicopathologic study of 129 patients from the kiel pediatric tumor registry.

Background

Reliable prediction of prognosis allowing risk-adapted therapy remains a major issue in the management of multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). In a recent publication of the International LCH Study Group, response to initial therapy appears to be a reliable outcome predictor. The aim of this study is to test this observation in a cohort of patients treated with more intensive initial therapy. Furthermore, we compare the predictive value of response to initial therapy to some other well-established stratification systems.



Procedure

Response to initial combination chemotherapy (prednisolone, vinblastine, and etoposide) at 6 weeks and its prognostic value was evaluated retrospectively in 63 patients with multisystem LCH from the DAL-HX 83 and 90 Studies, and correlated to some established scoring systems from the literature.



Results

After 6 weeks of therapy, 50/63 (79%) patients qualified as responders, 4/63 (7%) patients showed intermediate response, and 9/63 (14%) patients did not respond. Probability of survival at 5 years was 0.94 ± 0.03 for responders, 0.75 ± 0.22 for patients with intermediate response, and only 0.11 ± 0.10 for non-responders.



Conclusions

Response to initial therapy appears to be a reliable prognostic predictor. Compared to the published international LCH-I Study, our results suggest that more intensive initial treatment allows a better discrimination between responders and non-responders. This allows to identify a subgroup of patients with extremely poor prognosis (mortality rate 90%) relatively early in the disease course. Med Pediatr Oncol 2002;39:581–585. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Response to initial treatment of multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis: an important prognostic indicator.

Background: The prognosis of children with multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) has improved with the application of chemotherapy. However, treatment strategies used varied from conservative approach with treatment only during disease exacerbation to intensive chemotherapy starting immediately after diagnosis. No single drug or regimen has been proven to be superior to the others. Thus, optimal treatment of multisystem LCH remains still an unsolved problem. Patients: Three hundred and twenty-four patients enrolled in the DAL-HX 83 and DAL-HX 90 studies were retrospectively re-evaluated by using the current definition for disease extent. Sixty-three patients fulfilling the criteria for multisystem LCH (involvement of ≥ 2 organ systems) were object of the present study. These were 33 males and 30 females, median age at diagnosis 11,5 months (range, birth-13 years 2 months). The median observation time was 7 years 6 months (4 years-11 years 8 months). Methods: All patients had morphologically confirmed diagnosis, which was additionally verified through demonstration of CD1a antigen, presence of Birbeck granules or central pathologic review. Uniform evaluation including a complete medical history and physical examination, laboratory tests (complete blood count, liver function tests, coagulation profile) and radiographic survey (skeletal survey and/or radionuclide bone scan) was performed in all patients. Additional investigations (bone marrow tap, CT, MRI etc.) were performed upon specific indications. The 63 patients with multisystem LCH were evaluated with respect to response to therapy, clinical course, outcome and development of permanent disabilities. The results of the DAL-HX studies were compared with the results of the first randomized international clinical trial on multisystem LCH (LCH-I). Results: Response to 6 weeks of initial therapy showed a clear discrimination between responders and non-responders, with only 6% of the patients having intermediate response. When correlated to survival response to initial therapy appears to be a powerful prognosticator in multisystem LCH. There were some typical patterns of clinical course. Complete disease resolution at some point of the clinical course was documented in 50 (79%) patients. Thirty-five of them remained disease free, while 15 experienced one or more episodes of disease reactivation. Chronic reactivating course without complete disease resolution was observed in one patient. Deteriorating disease with fatal outcome was shown in 12 (19%) patients. The overall survival after 5 years of observation was 81 %. One or more disease-related permanent disabilities were documented in 24 patients, in 4 of them these were shown at diagnosis and in 20 patients these developed after therapy had been commenced. Despite more intensive chemotherapy, the overall survival in DAL-HX 83/90 cohort was comparable with that in LCH-I studies. However, LCH-I compares unfavorably to DAL-HX 83/90 in some very important aspects. With respect to reactivation rate, reactivation free interval and development of permanent disabilities better results were achieved with the more intensive initial and prolonged continuation therapy concept of the DAL-HX studies. Even after extended analysis it remains unclear whether the superiority of the DAL-HX studies has to be attributed to the administration of continuous steroids, to the combination of vinblastine and etoposide, or to the prolonged continuation therapy including mercaptopurine. Answers to these questions are expected from the ongoing international clinical trial LCH-II.

T. Westermeier

Papers

Response to initial treatment of multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis: an important prognostic indicator.

Treatment of multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Results of the DAL-HX 83 and DAL-HX 90 studies. DAL-HX Study Group.