Abstract
Background. Many studies, on light-skinned patients, suggested narrowband-UVB to be effective and safe for the treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Objectives. To evaluate the efficacy and side effects of narrowband-UVB in treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in patients with skin phototypes III, IV, and V. Methods. A total of 27 patients with the diagnosis of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma were involved in this prospective study. All patients received narrowband-UVB as monotherapy until clearance or a maximum of 42 sessions. Patients with complete clearance were followed for six months or relapse. Rate of clearance, number of sessions, and cumulative narrowband-UVB dose needed to achieve clearance, percentage of patients remaining in remission at 6 months, and side effects were analyzed. Results. Within 5–14 weeks (15–42 sessions), using cumulative narrowband-UVB dose ranging from 17.3 to 48.2 J/cm2, complete remission was achieved in 76.4% of patients. The rest of the patients achieved partial remission. Six months after discontinuation of the treatment, 42.8% of patients with complete remission remained in remission. Transient erythema in 11.1% of patients and mild hyperpigmentation in 14.8% of patients were the only side effects encountered during this study. Conclusion. We conclude that narrowband-UVB phototherapy is safe and effective for the treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in darker-skinned patients.
Highlights
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a group of lymphoproliferative disorders with clonal expansion of T helper cells, or rarely T suppressor/killer cells or NK cells, with localization to the skin
Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are very rare, with a prevalence of 5/1000000 per year [1, 2]. They are classified into a group with indolent clinical behavior, which includes mycosis fungoides (MF) and its variants (62%), and primary cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders (26%) and a group with aggressive clinical behavior (12%) like Sezary syndrome and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma [2]
In 23.6% of our patients (6/27), NB-UVB monotherapy was continued for 14 weeks (42 sessions, 45.7– 48.2 J/cm2, mean 46.6 J/cm2) with the result of partial remission (64%–82% clearance of skin lesions)
Summary
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a group of lymphoproliferative disorders with clonal expansion of T helper cells, or rarely T suppressor/killer cells or NK cells, with localization to the skin. On light-skinned patients, suggested narrowband-UVB to be effective and safe for the treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. To evaluate the efficacy and side effects of narrowband-UVB in treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in patients with skin phototypes III, IV, and V. Number of sessions, and cumulative narrowband-UVB dose needed to achieve clearance, percentage of patients remaining in remission at 6 months, and side effects were analyzed. We conclude that narrowband-UVB phototherapy is safe and effective for the treatment of early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in darker-skinned patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
