Lung Transplant in a Patient With Multifocal Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis After Chemotherapy With Cladribine: A Case Report

Transplant Proc. 2022 May;54(4):1177-1179. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2022.02.037. Epub 2022 Apr 8.

Abstract

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare inflammatory disorder of myeloid dendritic cells with mutations involving KRAS, BRAF and/or NRAS, and MAP2K1 genes. We describe the case of a 58-year-old female previous smoker with multifocal LCH involving the lungs, pituitary gland and mandibular bone. Initial treatment with 6 cycles of cladribine showed improvement in her extrapulmonary lesions, however, her lung disease progressed and after qualification and assessment tests she underwent uncomplicated double lung transplant surgery and was discharged home. We highlight that in select patients with well managed and controlled extrapulmonary LCH, such an invasive procedure as lung transplant is possible.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Cladribine / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell* / diagnosis
  • Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell* / drug therapy
  • Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Lung Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Cladribine
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf