Histiocytosis X: rate and pattern of resolution of osseous lesions.

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Abstract
Resolution rate and qualitative characteristics of healing were studied in 71 osseous lesions of histiocytosis X [in humans]. Rates of healing, as assessed planimetrically and by vertebral body-height measurement, did not differ significantly among lesions that were treated with chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy plus radiation, radiation alone, or those that received no treatment. Lesions of Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, multiple eosinophilic granuloma and solitary eosinophilic granuloma resolved at comparable rates. A trend toward more rapid healing was noted in younger children. Lesions treated with radiation alone showed a greater tendency to resolve with sclerosis, but radiographic healing characteristics did not strictly depend upon the specific mode of therapy. The concept of osseous histiocytosis X as a benign self-limited disorder, when systemic disease is absent, is supported, and therapeutic conservatism is encouraged.