Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, infiltration of the salivary glands, lymphadenopathy, and kidney damage – Mikulicz’s disease, Sjögren’s syndrome, or Castleman’s disease? Case report and overview of differential diagnosis and treatment

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BACKGROUND: Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia has a variety of causes, which we outline in the text. Regularly, very high concentrations of polyclonal immunoglobulins are observed in IgG4-related disease, Sjögren's syndrome, and in the idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease. OBSERVATION: We describe a patient who had induration of the salivary glands and an immunoglobulin IgG level of 42 g/l. Over the course of 3 months from the first contact, there was a significant overall deterioration: skin rash presumably due to vasculitis, impaired kidney function with pathological proteinuria, exophthalmus, and heart failure. Increased concentration of subclass immunoglobulin IgG4, along with histological assessment of the excised salivary gland, led to the diagnosis of a IgG4 related disease. RESULTS: The treatment was started with prednisone, which very soon led to the manifestation of diabetes mellitus, and therefore we requested approval for rituximab from the healthcare payer. We chose a regimen in which the effect of rituximab is further potentiated by adding cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone. The patient received 6 cycles consisting of rituximab 800 mg on the 1st day of the cycle. Additionally, dexamethasone 20 mg and cyclophosphamide 600 mg were administered on the 1st and 15th days of the 28-day cycle. The treatment led to a complete remission, with duration for 24 months at the time of evaluation. The patient is scheduled for maintenance treatment with rituximab 1,000 mg infused at 6-month intervals, but we extend these intervals if the disease markers (the concentration of IgG4 subclass immunoglobulin and the number of circulating plasmablasts in peripheral blood) are completely normal. CONCLUSION: The Mikulicz phenotype of the IgG4-related disease is characterized not only by the involvement of exocrine glands but also by damage to other organs (kidneys, cardiovascular system and skin). This disease tends to progress rapidly if not timely halted with effective treatment, in our case a combination of rituximab with a low dose of cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide has the potential in this disease not only to potentiate glucocorticoid therapy, but our experience confirms published data that it enhances the effect of rituximab and presumably also prolongs the duration of the treatment response.

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