Once localized Castleman disease (CD) is removed, the outlook is very good. Sometimes, however, the surgeon cannot safely remove all the disease. This doesn't necessarily mean it will come back. Even partial removal may help and the disease may not grow back.

The outlook (prognosis) for multicentric disease is not as good. Although treatment helps, the disease often comes back later. In one study, by the end of 2½ years, 50% of people with multicentric CD had died. The outlook is better if the CD disease is not associated with HIV infection. Another problem is that about 20% of people with the multicentric form of the disease develop lymphoma. The lymphoma that develops from CD usually grows fast and is hard to treat. (For more information about lymphoma, please see the American Cancer Society document, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma). When someone is HIV-positive, treatment and outlook of CD can be complicated by Kaposi sarcoma and other AIDS-related conditions.

Last Medical Review: 08/03/2009
Last Revised: 08/03/2009