Emerging drugs in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

Background: Mycosis fungoides (MF) represents the most common type of primary cutaneous T cell-lymphomas (CTCL), which are characterized by a clonally proliferation of malignant CD4+ lymphocytes in the skin.
Objective: Skin-directed treatment regimens, like phototherapy and corticosteroids, are commonly used in early stages; systemic treatments and chemotherapies are used in advanced stages. Because conventional treatments usually end in a transient remission without curative results, there is a high need for new therapeutic strategies with acceptable side effects.
Methods: Literature and reference research was done by using the data bank PubMed, and updates of ongoing studies were taken out of ASCO and ASH annual meeting abstracts.
Results/conclusions: This article gives an overview of the various medications in current use, with emphasis on emerging drugs with novel therapeutic targets.