Kimura's disease: case report and brief review of the literature.

Kimura's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease which often presents as a tumour-like swelling in the head and neck region with or without lymphadenopathy. Most cases have been described predominantly in Chinese and Japanese people. The lesion is benign, but it may easily be mistaken for a malignant tumour. Kimura's disease has been confused with angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE), from which it probably should be distinguished as a separate entity. The diagnosis may be suggested by a fine needle aspirate, but is established by a biopsy. The treatment of choice is surgical removal. A case of Kimura's disease in a Caucasian male of 12 years' duration is presented together with a brief review of the literature.