Corticosteroids for Castleman disease

Corticosteroids are a group of drugs related to hormones made in the body by the adrenal glands. These drugs inhibit the immune system, so they are useful in treating people with certain immune system diseases and cancers that develop from immune system cells, such as lymphomas. Some patients with multicentric Castleman disease (CD) are helped by treatment with these drugs.

Corticosteroids are often taken as pills, but they can also be given as an injection into a vein. Prednisone is the corticosteroid pill most often used to treat lymphoma and CD.

Side effects of corticosteroids can include increased blood sugar (which may lead to diabetes), depression, increased risk of infections, weakened bones, fatigue, muscle weakness, weight gain, fluid retention, and high blood pressure. Most of these side effects improve after the drug is stopped.