Juvenile Xanthogranuloma of the Corneal Limbus: Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Clinicopathological study of ophthalmic cutaneous and mucocutaneous non-langerhans cell histiocytic lesions

BACKGROUND

The "C group" of the histiocytic disorders is characterized by non-Langerhans-cell histiocytic lesions in the skin, mucosal surfaces, or both, out of which Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is the most common typically affecting the skin. The eye is the most common extra-cutaneous site of JXG., we aim at providing our clinical and histopathological experience with this group of diseases including the adult-onset xanthogranuloma (AXG).

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study of all patients with the tissue diagnosis of ocular and periocular cutaneous and mucocutaneous non-LCH disorders who presented to us over a period of 25 years (January 1993 to December 2018).

RESULTS

Twenty patients were diagnosed as "Group C" disease with an age range of 2 months-60.9 years. Eleven patients were females (55%) and nine were males (45%). The involvement was mostly unilateral in 80.9%. All cases fell into the xanthogranuloma family with 11 JXG patients, 8 AXG patients of skin and ocular surface, and one patient with solitary reticulohistiocytoma (SRH). The clinical site of involvement in JXG was primarily in the eyelid in 5 patients (45%), ocular surface lesions in 2 (18%), iris in 2 (18%), choroidal and bilateral orbital lesions in 1 patient each (9%). The group of AXG, presented equally with eyelid lesions in 4/8 and ocular surface lesions in 4/8. The non-Langerhans' histiocytic infiltrate showed supportive immunohistochemical staining properties (reactive to CD68 marker and negative to S-100 and langerin markers).

CONCLUSION

Among the rare histiocytic disorders, xanthogranulomatosis is the commonest and has wide clinical manifestations. Accurate diagnosis needs to be supported by typical histopathological findings. JXG was the commonest in our study with relatively older mean age at presentation and frequent eyelid rather than iris involvement. AXG is often confused with xanthelasma when involving the eyelids with corneal limbal involvement is relatively frequent.

Ophthalmic histiocytic lesions: a baseline demographic and clinicopathological study of 28 cases from two eye centers

PURPOSE

Ophthalmic histiocytic lesions comprise a heterogeneous rare group of disorders that are characterized by an abnormal proliferation of histiocytes and may affect all age groups of both sexes. The aim of this study was to highlight the basic demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics of this rare group of diseases in ophthalmic practice, which has not been previously studied in this area. Only individual cases have been previously reported.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of all biopsied ocular and periocular histiocytic lesions from two centers, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) and King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 1993 to December 2018. The histopathological diagnosis was confirmed, and the cases were re-classified by reviewing all histopathological slides. The corresponding demographic and clinical data were analyzed. A relevant literature review was also carried out for comparison of our collected analyzed data to published data and to draw our own conclusions.

RESULTS

A total of 34 ocular/periocular histiocytic lesions in 28 patients who were mostly Saudis (92.9%) were included. The male-to-female ratio was 4:3. The median age at presentation was 6.4 years (range: 2.8-35 years). Twenty-two patients had unilateral involvement, and six patients had bilateral lesions. In patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH; L group), the most common presenting findings were eyelid swelling (75%), periocular tenderness (37.5%), proptosis/globe displacement (37.5%) eyelid erythema (25%), and orbital pain (12.5%). In patients with Rosai Dorfman disease (RDD; R group), proptosis/globe displacement occurred in all patients and 80% had decreased vision. Patients in the C group (Cutaneous non-LCH histiocytoses) had variable clinical features because of the different locations of the histiocytic lesions, with the majority involving the eyelids (66.7%). Diagnosis was accurately reached clinically in 38.8%, 33.7%, and 46.7% of patients in the L, C, and R groups, respectively. Overall, the clinical diagnosis was in concordance with the histopathologic diagnosis in 14 out of 34 lesions (41.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Histiocytic disease is more likely to be overlooked clinically owing to its rarity. In the C group, juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) was the most commonly encountered histiocytic lesion and had a tendency to present at a later age with extremely rare intraocular involvement in contrast to previously published reports. The median age at presentation was higher in group R. All patients in group L had strictly unilateral disease, while RDD (group R) was most commonly bilateral. Future research on genetic aspects, management, and prognosis is necessary.

Ocular juvenile xanthogranuloma

PURPOSE

To report the clinical and histopathologic characteristics and prognoses of three ocular juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) cases.

CASE REPORTS

Three cases were included in this study. The first case involved a 5-year-old girl with an enlarging yellowish mass at the limbus with corneal involvement. Ultrasound biomicroscopy showed a poorly demarcated mass involving the underlying cornea and sclera. The mass was excised in combination with a lamellar keratoplasty procedure. No recurrence was seen at the 2-year follow-up. The second case involved a 2-year-old boy with an enlarging yellowish mass on the conjunctiva, without limbal involvement. The mass was excised with no recurrence noted 1 year later. The third case involved a 7-month-old girl with unilateral eye redness and photophobia combined with multiple orange-red, raised nodular lesions on the skin. Examination under general anesthesia revealed a gray-yellow mass in the inferior and temporal iridocorneal angles. The intraocular pressure and corneal diameter were normal. Examination using ultrasound biomicroscopy showed a high-level echo lump in the inferior and temporal angles. There was no treatment for this case. At the 1-year follow up, the eye symptoms had resolved and the skin lesions were flat. Histopathologic examinations were completed on all three cases. The presence of Touton giant cells in hematoxylin-eosin staining, positive CD68 staining, and negative S-100 and CD1a staining confirmed the diagnosis of JXG.

CONCLUSIONS

We report three histopathologically confirmed ocular JXG cases involving the corneoscleral limbus, conjunctiva, and iris with angle involvement, respectively. Ultrasound biomicroscopy performed on two cases demonstrated no obvious division between the mass and the surrounding structures. The cases with ocular surface involvement were successfully treated by excision and the case with iris involvement spontaneously regressed without any treatment. Early excision may be the better choice for ocular surface lesions, especially when corneal involvement is a possibility.