Abstract
Patient adherence to medications for common skin conditions has been extensively studied over the past two decades, and suboptimal adherence is a primary contributor to treatment failure. The impact of sub-par adherence in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients has been largely unexplored, and promoting adherence in this patient population may represent a promising area of consideration for improving treatment outcomes. We apply patient adherence strategies that have been studied in dermatology to CTCL and provide concrete examples of how these strategies can be used to improve adherence in the CTCL setting. Through the implementation of small changes in how we present and counsel about therapeutic options to our patients, we can maximize patient adherence, which has the potential to optimize therapy regimens and reduce treatment failure.
Highlights
Might we bring the rate of progression of those with T2 disease closer to those with T1, and decrease that in all stages, by improved adherence to treatment, whether topical or systemic? Patient adherence represents an area of untapped potential for improving treatment outcomes in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)
Strategies to promote adherence have been extensively studied in psoriasis and can be applied to CTCL (Table 1) [1,6]
Can a patient on multiple topical steroids or multiple topical agents use only one instead? It may be that the reduction in adherence from adding a topical agent is not worth the marginal benefit conferred
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common form of CTCL; at the initial diagnosis, 70% of patients have early-stage disease (IA–IIA), for which the application of topical therapies, generally more difficult than taking oral medications, is often recommended [3].
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