The expression of CXCR3 and CD30 in mycosis fungoides.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The clinical progression of mycosis fungoides (MF) often correlates with microscopic large cell transformation (LCT). It is reported that CD30 expression in the LCT of MF is associated with an absence of CXCR3 expression. This study investigates a large number of patients diagnosed with MF to determine the correlation between expression of CXCR3 and CD30 in additional sections. METHODS: The study included archival skin specimens from 101 patients with MF. We analyzed these specimens by immunohistochemistry for expressions of CXCR3 and CD30. RESULTS: The biopsy specimens showed microscopic features of low grade MF (LG-MF) in 80 cases and transformed MF (T-MF) in 21 cases. Tumor lymphocytes expressed CXCR3 in 61 out of 80 cases (76.3%) of LG-MF and in 10 out of 21 cases (47.6%) of T-MF.  CD30 positivity (CD30+) was seen in 16 of 80 cases (20%) of LG-MF and 12 of 21 cases (57.1%) of T-MF. The tumor cells in 8 of the 12 CD30+ T-MF cases showed scattered expression of CXCR3. CONCLUSION: CXCR3 expression was associated with epidermotropic T cell tumors but was greatly absent in dermal ones. Scattered or diffuse CD30 expression in T-MF was not associated with an absence of CXCR3 expression.