Rituximab Treatment of Primary Cutaneous Follicle Center Lymphoma: A Retrospective Review.

BACKGROUND: Primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma (PCBCL) presents only in the skin at the time of diagnosis with no evidence of extracutaneous disease, and primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma (PCFCL) is the most common subtype. There is currently a lack of prospective randomized control trials and large retrospective studies investigating the efficacy of different treatment options for PCFCL. This retrospective study was conducted to describe our local clinical experience and outcomes of patients treated with rituximab-containing regimens. OBJECTIVES: To describe our local clinical experience and treatment outcomes of patients treated with rituximab-containing regimens. METHODS: A retrospective study consisting of 25 PCFCL patients treated with different modalities. Patient records were reviewed and analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier estimation and SAS 9.4 software. RESULTS: After the initial treatment, all patients had CR except for 1 patient in the observation group. Further, 60% of patients in surgery, 20% in chemoimmunotherapy, 67% in rituximab monotherapy, 33% in steroid injection/systemic prednisone, and 33% in observation experienced a relapse. Although no significant difference was found between treatment groups due to the small sample size, time to relapse trends provides insight into treatment responses. Chemoimmunotherapy had the lowest relapse rate in the first 5 years post-treatment, whereas surgery had a higher tendency to relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the potential for rituximab-containing chemoimmunotherapy to yield adverse effects, it is effective in achieving a prolonged clinical remission in patients with PCFCL. It remains a reasonable treatment option for diffuse, extensive, or treatment-resistant disease.

Blue-grey hyperpigmentation in acne after vandetanib therapy and doxycycline use: A case report.

Vandetanib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor with cutaneous adverse effects that include the development of acne. We present a patient who underwent vandetanib therapy for stage IV medullary thyroid cancer in conjunction with the use of doxycycline for acne that developed. After vandetanib use, blue-grey pigmentation developed in the acne on his face, chest, back, and arms, which darkened after the use of doxycycline. We review the literature to report that this blue-grey hyperpigmentation was likely vandetanib-induced but may have been the result of both drugs being used in combination.