Systemic inflammatory pseudotumor, an unusual cause of fever of unknown origin mimiking a malignant lymphomatous process:case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In recent years, a new pathologic condition Eth called inflammatory pseudotumor Eth has been occasionally described to involve many different tissues or organs. However, evidence for systemic involvement is lacking and a review of the topic potentially useful, also considering the clinical features mimicking hematologic malignancies or other clinically relevant conditions. We report a case of systemic inflammatory pseudotumor and review the literature concerning the etiopathogenesis, differential diagnosis and treatment modalities of this particular pathology. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS: The data source for this topic was MEDLINE , searching all fields for inflammatory pseudotumor, inflammatory pseudotumor and lymph node or fever of unknown origin, pertaining to humans, published between 1970 and 1999. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory pseudotumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of malignant hematologic processes and of fever of unknown origin.