Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the rib in an adult: A case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare neoplastic hyperplasia with an unknown etiology. It is clinically rare for patients with solitary rib lesion and pathological fracture. In this article, we report a case of LCH in solitary involvement of rib and provide a review of the available literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 24-year-old female patient complained of right chest and back pain for 10 days. CT showed a fracture in the right 6th rib. Findings on X-ray, and CT were suggestive of homogeneous osteolytic lesion of the right 6th rib. The rib tumor was then resected and the surrounding muscles and soft tissues were accordingly resected. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The patient was diagnosed with pathological rib fracture, and the patient was pathologically diagnosed with LCH. After surgery, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was reported during the one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the solitary tumorous lesions in rib in adults call for various differential diagnoses. Although single-site, single-system LCH of the rib is one of the rarest causes of bone tumor in adults, it can be treated successfully with surgical intervention. LCH should be considered in the diagnosis of an adult patient with a rib mass.