General Information
Question: I would like to know what "Wegeners Granulomatosis" is? My friends 16 yr old son was just diagnosed with this. They are out of town at another hospital and were unable to provide much info due to their being in the same room with their son and trying to tell us his condition via telephone. I have heard it is a form of cancer and another (not medical) source said this is an auto-immune disease. Any info you can provide would be appreciated.

Answer: Wegener's Granulomatosis is one of those diseases that is hard to classify. Currently, there is no known cause. The body tends to produce "non-caseating granulomas" which are inflammatory nodules in different organs. These can become large enough to be interpreted as cancer on a CAT scan-but, they are not. They are most commonly seen in the sinuses and the lungs;but, can affect most of the other internal organs. The disease is usually classified as a vasculitis meaning inflammation of the blood vessels. It can be indolent or progress rapidly to death. It is usually treated with drugs such as cytoxan and steroids with complete remission seen in 70-80% with this regimen.
Back to Drug InfoNet Home Page.