Current therapy for Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

The changing concept of the pathogenesis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis over the past 50 years has been mirrored by evolving treatment regimens. The publications by the Histiocyte Society in the 1980s of diagnostic, clinical, and laboratory criteria allowed international collaboration in treatment trials. These, in turn, have allowed stratification of risk groups and the evolution of a salvage therapy protocol for the poorest risk patients. Experimental therapies now being evaluated may be the treatment strategies for the next decade.