Abstract
Kimura's disease is a rare chronic granulomatous disease characterized by subcutaneous masses of the head and neck. We describe a case of Kimura's disease spreading from the cheek to the temporal region in a 46-year-old man. He complained of a growing but painless swelling in the right cheek and temporal region. Laboratory examination of a peripheral blood specimen showed no signs of inflammation, except for eosinophilia. Radiographic examinations, including ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, showed a well-defined, contiguous radiopaque solid mass. Surgical enucleation was performed for a clinical diagnosis of a benign tumor of the cheek. Histopathological examination showed lymphoid follicles and chronic inflammation accompanied by eosinophil infiltration and a mature fibrous stroma. IgE-positive cells were intensively seen in the center of the lymphoid follicles and in the surrounding area. The final diagnosis was Kimura's disease. Postoperative blood tests for oral causes found no specific markers. Because laboratory data showed persistence of marked eosinophilia and a high serum IgE level, it was speculated that systemic factors that can induce eosinophil infiltration and serum IgE secretion, such as immunologic abnormalities, may have been involved in the pathogenesis of this case.
