Paediatric onset lymphomatoid papulosis: results of a multicentre retrospective cohort study, on behalf of the EORTC Cutaneous Lymphoma Tumours Group (CLTG).

BACKGROUND: Lymphomatoid Papulosis (LyP) is a rare cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Comprehensive data on LyP in the paediatric population is scarce. OBJECTIVES: To characterize epidemiological, clinical, histopathological, and prognostic features of paediatric LyP. METHODS: This was a retrospective, multicentre international cohort study including 87 cases of children and adolescents with LyP diagnosed between 1998 and 2022. Patients aged ≤ 18 years old at disease onset were included. Diagnosis was made in each centre based on clinical-pathological correlation. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients from 12 centres were included. The mean age at onset was 7.0 years (range 3 months-18 years) with a male to female ratio of 2:1. The mean time between onset of first cutaneous lesions and diagnosis was 1.3 years (range 0-14 years). Initial misdiagnosis concerned 26.4% of patients. Initially, LyP was most often misdiagnosed as Pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (PLEVA), insect bites, or mollusca contagiosa. Erythematous papules or papulonodules were the most frequent clinical presentation. Pruritus was specifically mentioned for 20.7% of patients. The main histological subtype was type A in 55.1% of the cases. If analysed, monoclonal TCR rearrangement was found in 76.5% of the skin biopsies. The overall survival rate was 100% with follow up at 5 years available for 33 patients and at 15 years for 8 patients. A development of associated haematological malignancy (HM) occurred in 9.6% of the cases (7/73), including four mycosis fungoides (MF) cases, one primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pc-ALCL), one systemic ALCL and one case of acute myeloid leukaemia. If we compare incidence rates of cancer with the world 0-19 years old population from 2001-2010, we estimate a significantly higher risk of associated malignancy in general, occurring before the age of 19 years old with incidence rate ratio of 87.49 (CI 86.01-88.99). CONCLUSIONS: We report epidemiological data from a large international cohort of children and adolescents with LyP. Overall the prognosis of the disease is good, with excellent survival rates for all patients. Due to increased risk of associated HM, a long-term follow-up should be recommended for LyP patients.

Boost of innate immunity cytokines as biomarkers of response to extracorporeal photopheresis in patients with leukaemic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has emerged as a systemic first-line immunomodulatory therapy in leukaemic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (L-CTCL) and is now beginning to be utilized in other T-cell-mediated diseases. Although ECP has been used for nearly 30 years, its mechanisms of action are not sufficiently understood, and biomarkers for response are scarce. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of ECP on cytokine secretion patterns in patients with L-CTCL, to help elucidate its mechanism of action. METHODS: A total of 25 patients with L-CTCL and 15 healthy donors (HDs) were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Concentrations of 22 cytokines were simultaneously quantified by using multiplex bead-based immunoassays. Neoplastic cells in patients' blood were evaluated by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Firstly, we observed a distinct cytokine profile pattern difference between L-CTCLs and HDs. There was a significant loss of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and significant increase of interleukins (IL)-9, IL-12 and IL-13 in the sera of patients with L-CTCL compared with HDs. Secondly, patients with L-CTCL who received ECP were classified as treatment responders and nonresponders according to the quantitative reduction of malignant burden in their blood. We evaluated cytokine levels in culture supernatants from patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) at baseline and 27 weeks after ECP initiation. Strikingly, PBMCs purified from ECP responders released statistically higher concentrations of innate immune cytokines IL-1α, IL-1ß, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and TNF-α in comparison with ECP nonresponders. In parallel, responders showed clearance of erythema, reduction of malignant clonal T cells in the blood, and a potent boost of relevant innate immune cytokines in individual patients with L-CTCL. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results demonstrate that ECP stimulates the innate immune network, and facilitates redirection of the tumour-biased immunosuppressive microenvironment towards proactive antitumour immune responses. The alterations of IL-1α, IL-1ß, GM-CSF and TNF-α can be used as biomarkers of response to ECP in patients with L-CTCL.

Reliable and rapid identification of terbinafine resistance in dermatophytic nail and skin infections.

BACKGROUND: Fungal infections are the most frequent dermatoses. The gold standard treatment for dermatophytosis is the squalene epoxidase (SQLE) inhibitor terbinafine. Pathogenic dermatophytes resistant to terbinafine are an emerging global threat. Here, we determine the proportion of resistant fungal skin infections, analyse the molecular mechanisms of terbinafine resistance, and validate a method for its reliable rapid identification. METHODS: Between 2013 and 2021, we screened 5634 consecutively isolated Trichophyton for antifungal resistance determined by hyphal growth on Sabouraud dextrose agar medium containing 0.2 µg/mL terbinafine. All Trichophyton isolates with preserved growth capacity in the presence of terbinafine underwent SQLE sequencing. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the broth microdilution method. RESULTS: Over an 8-year period, the proportion of fungal skin infections resistant to terbinafine increased from 0.63% in 2013 to 1.3% in 2021. Our routine phenotypic in vitro screening analysis identified 0.83% (n = 47/5634) of Trichophyton strains with in vitro terbinafine resistance. Molecular screening detected a mutation in the SQLE in all cases. Mutations L393F, L393S, F397L, F397I, F397V, Q408K, F415I, F415S, F415V, H440Y, or A398 A399 G400 deletion were detected in Trichophyton rubrum. Mutations L393F and F397L were the most frequent. In contrast, all mutations detected in T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale complex strains were F397L, except for one strain with L393S. All 47 strains featured significantly higher MICs than terbinafine-sensitive controls. The mutation-related range of MICs varied between 0.004 and 16.0 µg/mL, with MIC as low as 0.015 µg/mL conferring clinical resistance to standard terbinafine dosing. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our data, we propose MIC of 0.015 µg/mL as a minimum breakpoint for predicting clinically relevant terbinafine treatment failure to standard oral dosing for dermatophyte infections. We further propose growth on Sabouraud dextrose agar medium containing 0.2 µg/mL terbinafine and SQLE sequencing as fungal sporulation-independent methods for rapid and reliable detection of terbinafine resistance.

Radiotherapy as a Treatment Option for Local Disease Control in Primary Cutaneous Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Leg Type.

BACKGROUND: Primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type (PCDLBCL, LT) is an aggressive lymphoma variant. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy with rituximab is recommended as first-line treatment. Radiotherapy (RT) has been considered as a therapeutic option for local disease control in patients with solitary or localized lesions. METHODS: We report the results of a retrospective analysis of PCDLBC, LT patients treated either with RT alone or with physician's decision as first-line treatment, aiming to assess disease progression and/or first recurrence in these treatment groups. RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed 20 patients treated either with RT alone (n = 8) or with investigator's choice treatment (n = 12), which included chemotherapy alone or combined with local therapy (RT and wide local excision). Complete response (CR) was achieved in 8 patients from the first group and 9 patients from the second group, with 1 treatment failure. Six patients treated with RT alone progressed with a median time to progression (TTP) of 12.5 months. In the second group, 5 patients progressed with a median TTP of 5.2 months. RT showed good local disease control in both groups without any skin relapses during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: RT as first-line monotherapy followed by watchful waiting did not significantly improve the overall risk of disease progression but resulted in good local disease control. After progression, RT could still easily be combined with systemic treatment. The strength of this analysis needs to be evaluated in a larger patient cohort.

Sensitivity and specificity of T-cell receptor PCR BIOMED-2 clonality analysis for the diagnosis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Early and precise diagnosis of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) is challenging. Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based clonality assessment of the T-cell receptor (TCR) is a helpful tool for this diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: In this retrospective study, we aimed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of this method for the diagnosis of CTCL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Monoclonal rearrangement of the TCR was investigated retrospectively by PCR-based clonality assessment based on 292 DNA samples from skin biopsies of patients with a suspicion of CTCL. Algorithms were based on different ratios (three or five-fold difference) between the dominant PCR peak and the third highest PCR peak. RESULTS: A PCR peak five-fold higher than the third highest PCR peak demonstrated significantly greater specificity (83.7% versus 76.4%) but lower sensitivity (59.8% versus 68.6%) compared to a cut-off of three-fold higher. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the diagnostic value of TCR clonality analysis which may be used to define the ideal cut-off in order to optimize sensitivity and specificity.

IL-4 abrogates T(H)17 cell-mediated inflammation by selective silencing of IL-23 in antigen-presenting cells.

Interleukin 4 (IL-4) can suppress delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions (DTHRs), including organ-specific autoimmune diseases in mice and humans. Despite the broadly documented antiinflammatory effect of IL-4, the underlying mode of action remains incompletely understood, as IL-4 also promotes IL-12 production by dendritic cells (DCs) and IFN-γ-producing T(H)1 cells in vivo. Studying the impact of IL-4 on the polarization of human and mouse DCs, we found that IL-4 exerts opposing effects on the production of either IL-12 or IL-23. While promoting IL-12-producing capacity of DCs, IL-4 completely abrogates IL-23. Bone marrow chimeras proved that IL-4-mediated suppression of DTHRs relies on the signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6)-dependent abrogation of IL-23 in antigen-presenting cells. Moreover, IL-4 therapy attenuated DTHRs by STAT6- and activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3)-dependent suppression of the IL-23/T(H)17 responses despite simultaneous enhancement of IL-12/TH1 responses. As IL-4 therapy also improves psoriasis in humans and suppresses IL-23/T(H)17 responses without blocking IL-12/T(H)1, selective IL-4-mediated IL-23/T(H)17 silencing is promising as treatment against harmful inflammation, while sparing the IL-12-dependent T(H)1 responses.

Parental anxiety and concern for children undergoing dermatological surgery.

Parents experience anxiety and concern about their children's anesthesia and surgeries, which can adversely affect the children's outcomes. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that influence parental fear. Because dermatological surgery is often performed in young children, we examined how a child's age and the size of the dermatological surgical area affected the levels of parental anxiety and concern. The parents' levels of anxiety and concern were accessed by parental self-reports in a prospective observational study of 106 children undergoing dermatological surgery. Correlation analysis showed that the level of parental anxiety decreased with the child's age. In contrast, the level of parental anxiety increased with the size of the surgical area. Our findings thus indicate that parents whose children undergo large-sized surgeries at a young age are at high risk. This result should be considered when performing dermatological surgery in children.