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Abstract Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders, characterized by infiltration of the skin by mature malignant T cells. Mycosis fungoides is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, accounting for more than 60% of cases. Mycosis fungoides in the early-stage is generally an indolent disease, progressing slowly from some patches or plaques to more widespread skin involvement. However, 20% to 25% of patients progress to advanced stages, with the development of skin tumors, extracutaneous spread and poor prognosis. Treatment modalities can be divided into two groups: skin-directed therapies and systemic therapies. Therapies targeting the skin include topical agents, phototherapy and radiotherapy. Systemic therapies include biological response modifiers, immunotherapies and chemotherapeutic agents. For early-stage mycosis fungoides, skin-directed therapies are preferred, to control the disease, improve symptoms and quality of life. When refractory or in advanced-stage disease, systemic treatment is necessary. In this article, the authors present a compilation of current treatment options for mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome.

Introduction: Phototherapy is a therapeutic modality used to treat various dermatoses. It consists of exposure to non-ionizing radiation, classified as UVA or UVB according to its wavelength. Material and Methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study carried out in the phototherapy sector of the Dermatology Service of a university hospital with the objective of characterizing the population under treatment and their degree of satisfaction. Results: Fifty-one individuals were included of whom 69% were female, with a mean age of 49 years. The most prevalent dermatoses under treatment during the research were: vitiligo (62.5%), and mycosis fungoides (13.73%). Regarding the level of satisfaction with treatment, more than 90% declared themselves satisfied/very satisfied. Discussion: The prevalence of women and lower phototypes was consistent with the literature. The predominance of the elderly in this study corroborated by other studies may be justified by the presence of comorbidities, and contraindication to conventional treatments beside more time available for the treatment. In some cases, the most prevalent dermatosis was psoriasis, differing from our study. The second most prevalent dermatosis in our study was mycosis fungoides, which also differs from the studies found that described psoriasis or vitiligo as the second most prevalent dermatosis. Conclusion: Studies such as this one are necessary for the planning both the departments that already have this therapeutic modality and those that wish to implement it. Our results are not fully convergent with those of the literature as nowadays there are new options for the treatment of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Our objective was to briefly review the literature on the hypochromic variant of mycosis fungoides and highlight common differential diagnoses. Methods: This article consists of a literature review, and the search for references was performed in the Virtual Health Library (VHL) in Portuguese, English and Spanish, with a total of 47 references retrieved. Results: The hypochromic variant of mycosis fungoides is a rare form of this chronic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, whose clinical presentation is diversified, giving a challenging and late diagnosis to the disease. As the clinical aspects are similar to common dermatoses such as leprosy and pityriasis alba, this hypochromic variant of mycosis fungoides is underdiagnosed or its diagnosis is delayed. Conclusion: The importance of conducting a detailed anamnesis and physical examination at medical appointments is highlighted for the correct diagnosis of unusual diseases, such as the one described, and to enable primary care to detect common cases accurately, referring the others to the dermatologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sézary syndrome is a primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma characterized by the triad of erythroderma, lymphadenopathy and circulating atypical cells. The emergence of new molecular targets has enabled the development of drugs such as alemtuzumab, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, which has shown promising results in the treatment of this entity. We report the case of a 70-year-old male with refractory Sézary syndrome in whom treatment with alemtuzumab achieved an 80% skin lesion clearance with complete haematologic and radiologic response. The treatment was discontinued after 4 months due to adverse effects, with the patient showing a sustained response without disease progression after 13 months of follow-up.

This paper reviews the diagnostic and classificatory concepts of mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome in light of the latest normative publications. It describes the great variability of the clinical expression of mycosis fungoides in its early stages as well as the histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects that help with diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria required for characterizing Sézary syndrome and the staging system used for both mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are described.O artigo revisa os conceitos diagnósticos e de classificação da micose fungóide e da síndrome de Sézary a luz das publicações normativas mais recentes. Descreve a grande variabilidade de expressão clinica da micose fungóide em seus estágios iniciais assim como os aspectos histopatológicos e imuno-histoquímicos auxiliares ao diagnóstico. São descritos os critérios de diagnósticos exigidos para que se caracterize a síndrome de Sézary e o sistema de estadiamento, utilizado para ambas, micose fungóide e síndrome de Sézary.