Background: Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare, idiopathic, histiocytic proliferative disorder, the infrequent occurrence of which limits in-depth studies. Consequently, many characteristics of this disease remain unknown, restricting early diagnosis and proper treatment.
Methods: In this study, the literature was reviewed and a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 13 patients with RDD conducted to investigate the demographic data, clinical data, laboratory and imaging results, treatment, and prognosis of this disease.
Results: Of the 13 cases in our sample, 10 (77%) were purely extranodal RDD, 2 (15%) were both nodal and extranodal, and 1 (8%) was purely nodal. The locations of the 10 purely extranodal RDD lesions included the central nervous system (n = 6, 60%), nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (n = 3, 30%), and the cutis (n = 1, 10%). The locations of the central nervous system-related RDD lesions included the cerebral subdura (n = 2, 29%), the sellar region (n = 3, 14%), the cerebral parenchyma (n = 1, 14%) and the spinal subdura (n = 1, 14%). Ten patients (77%) had stable conditions, 3 (23%) experienced recurrence, and 2 (15%) experienced recurrence and lesion metastasis.
Conclusions: RDD is rare, requiring knowledge of its clinical manifestations for a rapid and correct diagnosis. In light of the possibility of recurrence and lesion metastasis, long-term follow-up is needed. Treatment is still controversial. Future efforts should be directed at investigating the etiology and postoperative treatment for relapsing cases or those with subresected lesions.