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CASE REPORT article

Front. Med.

Sec. Hematology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1643331

This article is part of the Research TopicEndothelium, Innate Immunity and Coagulation in Hematological DisordersView all 23 articles

Adult Onset Multisystem Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Initially Presenting with Diabetes Insipidus: A Case Report

Provisionally accepted
Dan  ZengDan Zeng1,2Mingyu  HaoMingyu Hao1,2Liming  ZhouLiming Zhou1,2Yuli  WangYuli Wang2,3Junying  LiuJunying Liu1,2SHUJUAN  CHENSHUJUAN CHEN1,2Litao  ZhengLitao Zheng1,2Yeyu  YangYeyu Yang4,5Haiyan  LiHaiyan Li1,2*
  • 1Department of Endocrinology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospita, Shenzhen, China
  • 2Health Science Center of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
  • 3Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
  • 4Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
  • 5Shenzhen Hospital Zhulin Community Health Service Station, Shenzhen, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare hematopoietic disorder with diverse clinical presentations and sequential or concurrent multi-organ involvement. The adult onset is particularly uncommon and challenging to diagnose early. Case Presentation: A 36-year-old female patient initially presented with polydipsia, polyuria, and dry mouth, gradually developing bone pain, facial erythema, and lymph node enlargement. Cranial MRI showed pituitary stalk thickening with the absence of a posterior pituitary signal. Iliac bone biopsy with immunohistochemistry demonstrated S-100(+), CD1a(+), and CD68(+) expression. After Systemic Chemotherapy and DDAVP administration, follow-up showed improvement of polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia, remission of osseous pain, regression of cutaneous manifestations, normalized pituitary stalk morphology, and reduced lesion metabolic activity. Conclusion: This report documents a complex and rare case to improve early diagnosis, reduce misdiagnosis, and prevent poor outcomes from delayed treatment.

Keywords: langerhans cell histiocytosis, Pituitary stalk thickening, Central diabetes insipidus, Multisystemic involvement, case report

Received: 08 Jun 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Hao, Zhou, Wang, Liu, CHEN, Zheng, Yang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Haiyan Li, haiyanli78@163.com

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