What is Kimuras disease?
Kimura’s disease is a condition that causes non-cancerous tumours (or lumps) to develop in the head and neck region. Lymph glands may also be enlarged and there may be increased numbers of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the bloodstream. Kimura’s disease is very rare in Europe but is frequently diagnosed in Asian countries and in immigrants from these countries. The cause of the disease isn’t clear, although one theory is that an allergen (as yet unidentified) stimulates the body to produce inflammation in certain tissues which results in the appearance of tumours and enlarged glands. There is no consensus on the best treatment for the disease. Sometimes the lumps are removed surgically; in other cases drug treatments designed to affect the immune system (for example, cyclosporin) are used; even radiotherapy and laser treatment have been tried. As Kimura’s disease is so rare in Europe I don’t know whether there are any other families in the UK affected by the condition but
