Analysis of Clinical Characteristics, Pathological Changes and Changes of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in Children with Castleman’s Disease

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the pathological changes, clinical characteristics and changes in immunity, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in children with Castleman’s disease (CD). MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 15 CD child patients were enrolled as observation group, while 20 normal children receiving healthy examination were enrolled as healthy control group. The pathological changes, clinical characteristics and changes in immunity and serum IL-6 and CRP expressions were retrospectively analyzed in observation group. RESULTS: The clinical manifestation of unicentric CD (UCD) was mainly enlargement of cervical lymph nodes without liver-spleen enlargement and fever, and the major pathological type was the hyaline-vascular type. Multicentric CD (MCD) child patients all had anemia, fever and other systemic symptoms, and the major pathological type was the plasma-cell type. There were expressions of the immune indexes, including cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD79, in a certain degree, while CD138 and VS38C expressions displayed the polyclonal proliferation of plasma cells, rather than neoplastic proliferation. The Epstein-Barr virus and human herpes virus-8 detection results were negative, and CD21 in follicular dendritic cells in abnormal germinal center was positive. The expression levels of serum IL-6 and CRP in observation group were higher than those in control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There are immune dysfunction and increased expressions of serum IL-6 and CRP in child patients with CD, so it can be speculated that the immune abnormality and overexpression of serum inflammatory factors may be associated with the occurrence of CD.