Mycosis Fungoides - Symptoms & Treatment

Mycosis Fungoides, is a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma characterized by patches, plaques, and tumors. It is also known as cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTLC), which affects the skin. Lymphomas are blood tumors. In mycosis fungoides the blood lymphoma stays mostly in the skin. This results in a rash. Most people who have mycosis fungoides will have the rash over many years. It is very difficult to determine if someone has mycosis fungoides, usually several biopsies are required over a number of years before the diagnosis can be made. This infection is confined to the skin and it rarely affects other parts of the body. These changes develop slowly over the years. At the start they are irregularly shaped and variably itchy dry patches of the skin. At this stage it becomes difficult to make the diagnosis as early mycosis fungoides look like common skin condition such as psoriasis or eczema. Later on the patches thicken up to become plaques. Sometimes the skin becomes red all over. In a number of cases the mycosis fungoides never gets beyond the stage of patches and plaques. Very rarely the skin patches gets thicken, enlarged and ulcerate. The affected area might be painful and discharge fluid. It is an unusual expression of T-cells which is a part of the immune system.

The fungoides of the mycosis are a fatal illness of the blood. These are a type of lymphoma. It is a rare illness, with approximately 1 new case for 1 million in the United States. It affects men twice as often as women, and is more common in black people than in whites. Mycosis fungoides can begin at any age, but the most common age is 50 years old. The cause of the disease is unknown. It presents insidiously with scaly patches and plaques which can look eczematous or psoriasiform. Lesions often appear initially on the buttocks. These lesions may come and go or remain persistent over many years. Patients may well die of unrelated causes. Skin biopsy confirms the diagnosis showing invasion by atypical lymphocytes. T-cell receptor gene rearrangement studies show that there is often a monoclonal expansion of lymphocytes in the skin. Occasionally the disease can progress to a cutaneous nodular or tumour stage which may be accompanied by systemic organ involvement. In elderly males the disease may progress rarely to an erythrodermic variant accompanied by lymphadenopathy and peripheral blood involvement ('Sezary syndrome'). All patients should be staged at the time of diagnosis to assess for any systemic involvement.

Signs and Symptoms of Mycosis Fungoides

Sign and symptoms may include the following :