Kimura's disease: clinicopathological study of eight cases.

BACKGROUND: Kimura's disease is a rare, localised, chronic inflammatory disease. This benign disease involves subcutaneous tissues, the major salivary gland, and lymph nodes primarily in the head and neck area.

METHOD: Clinical details and stained slides of all cases reported as Kimura's disease over a 10-year period were reviewed.

RESULTS: There were eight cases of Kimura's disease. The mean age of patients was 22.8 years. One case showed associated nephrotic syndrome and two cases were associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia. All cases showed the typical histopathological features of Kimura's disease.

CONCLUSION: Kimura's disease was first reported in China in 1937. The cause of Kimura's disease is unknown and many theories have been proposed. The eight cases reported here illustrate some of the variations in the mode of presentation and in the histological features of Kimura's disease. Kimura's disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients who present with head and neck swellings and lymphadenopathy, and investigated accordingly.