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Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma,
Mycosis Fungoides, and
Sezary Syndrome

Adult Lymphoma
Hodgkin's
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Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is an indolent (low grade)
T-cell lymphoma that usually starts in or on the skin. Mycosis Fungoides is the most common type and classic presentation of CTCL and usually progresses slowly over many years.   In rare cases, affected individuals may develop Sezary syndrome, a leukemic variant of mycosis fungoides.
 
CTCL should not be confused with peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTL) or adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia (ATLL) which are aggressive lymphomas which may also present themselves in the skin but require different types of treatment.
 
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Diagnosis and Staging

Once the doctors suspect a lymphoma diagnosis they will perform tests to confirm the diagnosis.  This will include one or more biopsies (surgical removal of suspect tissue) which will be examined by an experienced pathologist to determine the type of cancer and how far it has spread.  The determination of the spread of the disease is called staging and for CTCL it is different than for other types of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.  The TNM classification is used.  The cancer is characterized by the spread of the tumors on the skin (from T1 to T4), the lymph node involvement (N0 to N3) and whether thee are distant metastasis (spread to visceral organs) M1 or not M0.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the stage of the disease.  Early stage (limited) disease may be treated with chemotherapy applied to the skin and ultraviolet A light exposure (PUVA).   Total skin electron beam radiation (TSEB) may be used for disease that has spread.   Treatment with multiple agent chemotherapy may also be used and there are clinical trials testing combinations of treatment.

More Information in association with Healthology.Com:

Further Reading / In-Depth

Very Good: Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas, Peter M. Mauch (Editor), James O. Armitage (Editor), et al., 2004.

  • Section IV: Pathology, Biology, Clinical Evaluation, and Treatment Section
    • Chapter 19: Mycosis Fungoids

Excellent but Technical: An Illustrated Guide to Skin Lymphomas, Cerroni, Gatter, Kerl, 2nd. Ed, 2005

  • Chapter 2: Mycosis Fungoids, pp 9-38
  • Chapter 3: Sezary Syndrome, pp 39-44

Cutaneous Lymphomas, Berg and Kempf, editors, 2005.

Web Resources:

Organizations

  • The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation (formerly the Mycosis Fungoides Foundation) is dedicated to all forms of lymphoma of the skin. Recommended.   (update)
    PO Box 374 Birmingham, MI 48012-0374  USA
    (248) 644-9014, Fax (248) 644-9014
    E-mail: info@clfoundation.org   (updated)

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Information Pages:

Other Pages of Interest:

This page is a work in progress - if you have more complete information, references, or other information please contact the author.  The author is not in the medical field and does not warrant the correctness of the material on this page or the sites linked - please take online information and consult with your own medical team to make informed decisions.

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Updated November 20, 2005