Immunoglobulin-storing histiocytosis: A case based systemic review

Abstract

Crystal-storing histiocytosis (CSH) is a rare event in disorders associated with monoclonal gammopathy and is mostly associated with the accumulation of immunoglobulins (Igs) in the cytoplasm of histiocytes. In this article, we present a case of a 75-year-old female with IgG kappa monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and signs of a non-crystallized version of immunoglobulin-storing histiocytosis (IgSH) in a vertebra corpus. Furthermore, we performed a literature review based on all cases of storing histiocytosis identified by literature search between 1987 and 2020 and identified 140 cases in total. The median age at diagnosis was 60 years (range 18–91), with an equal sex distribution (51% men). The majority of the patients had an underlying neoplastic B-cell disorder, most often multiple myeloma (MM), MGUS, or lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL). The main affected organ systems or tissue sites were bone (n = 52), followed by head and neck (n = 31), kidney (n = 23), lung (n = 20), and gastrointestinal (GI)-tract (n = 18). IgG was the main immunoglobulin class involved, and most cases were associated with kappa light chain expression. We conclude that IgSH is a rare disease entity but should be considered with unusual findings in several organ systems associated with monoclonal gammopathy, especially with kappa light chain expression.