Abstract
Mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, generally has a favorable clinical course. Early MF typically presents erythematous patches and/or plaques and lasts for many years without affecting the life expectancy. Only limited cases progress to develop skin tumors, with subsequent lymph nodes and rarely visceral organ involvement. One of the clinical problems in early MF is the difficulty in differentiating the disease from benign inflammatory disorders (BIDs), such as atopic dermatitis, chronic eczema, and psoriasis. In some MF cases, clinical and pathological findings are similar to those of BIDs. However, the accurate diagnosis of early MF is quite important, as inappropriate treatment including immunosuppressants can cause unfavorable or even fatal outcomes. This article focuses on general methods and novel tools for diagnosis of early MF.
Highlights
Guidelines describing the diagnosis of Mycosis fungoides (MF) are created by various professional societies [2,7,8,9], and the methods for diagnosis are mostly consistent in those guidelines
The diagnosis of early MF is made comprehensively based on combined findings described above
Amorim et al retrospectively reviewed 67 early MF patients clinically, pathologically, and immunohistochemically [30]. They found that 43 of 67 patients (64%) met the basic and two or more additional criteria of clinical and pathological findings and the diagnosis of early MF could be made by those findings
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The disease typically presents in the form of erythematous patches and/or plaques and this stage can last for many years without clinical progression and affecting the life expectancy of patients [1,3,4,5,6]. The diagnosis of MF is made comprehensively based on clinical presentation, clinical course, pathological and immunohistochemical analysis, and occasionally molecular biological analysis. It is sometimes hard to differentiate early MF from benign inflammatory disorders (BIDs), such as atopic dermatitis (AD), chronic eczema, and psoriasis [10,11,12], because in some MF cases, clinical and pathological findings are similar to those of BIDs. In addition, the difficulty in differential diagnosis can be caused by the lack of tumor cell-specific markers and not enough sensitivity and specificity of genetic tests detecting clonality of tumor cells.
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