A solitary pulmonary ground-glass nodule in adult systemic langerhans' cell histiocytosis.

During a thoracic computed tomography (CT) scan, a 36-year-old male was diagnosed with a solitary oval pulmonary mixed ground-glass nodule in the right upper lobe of the lung. The edge of the nodule was well-defined, and its largest axial size was approximately 1.1 × 0.9 cm(2). This nodule was slightly lobulated, but not obviously speculated. Solid components, micro-cystic lucency shadow, small high-density rings and tiny vascular branches were all visible in the nodule. During hospitalization, a technetium 99 m methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99 m MDP) bone scan was performed, which showed a skeletal foci with abnormal uptake in the left iliac. A pulmonary lobectomy of the right upper lobe of the lung by video-assisted thoracoscopy was performed. In post-operative pathological photomicrographs, proliferative Langerhans' cells, eosinophils and lymphocytes were found. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of S-100 protein, CD1a, and CD68 antigen all stained positive. Since Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) that is also associated with isolated mixed ground-glass nodules is relatively rare, such a multi-systemic LCH case as identified herein, is reported.