Pediatric Mycosis Fungoides: Retrospective Analysis of a Series With CD8 + Profile and Female Predominance.

BACKGROUND: Mycosis fungoides (MF) in children is a rare disease and there are limited data regarding the behavior of the disease in this age group. We aimed to collect additional data to better understand the clinicopathologic features of MF in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of pediatric MF patients (diagnosed at age 0 to 18 y). RESULTS: Thirteen pediatric patients with MF were identified. Female predominance was observed with a ratio of 1.6:1. Median values for age of onset of skin lesions and age at the time of histologic diagnosis were 5 and 12 years, respectively. All patients had early stage (stage IA to IIA) of MF at the time of diagnosis. Hypopigmented MF comprised 77% of all study patients, followed by classic MF (15%) and pagetoid reticulosis (8%). The lower extremity (especially proximal leg) followed by trunk and upper extremity were most commonly affected sites. Seven of 9 patients who had available immunohistochemistry data showed CD8 + predominance. Five of 8 patients whose follow-up data was available, achieved complete response with narrowband ultraviolet B treatment, while 2 and 1 had near complete response and partial response, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated female sex and CD8 + profile predominance. Hypopigmented MF constituted the majority of cases. We observed good responses with narrowband ultraviolet B treatment.

Malignant melanoma in transplant patients: a case report and review of the literature.

The clinical course and outcome of malignant melanoma (MM) are well-established for immunocompetent groups; however, they are not well-documented for immunosuppressed populations. Specifically, the influence of immunosuppression may result in poorer outcomes, especially in more advanced cases of melanoma. We report a 67-year-old woman who had previously undergone a kidney and pancreas transplant and presented with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIIA melanoma with subsequent rapid demise. As medicine advances with greater numbers of organ transplant recipients, a multi-institutional prospective study for this at-risk population would be greatly beneficial to help characterize the incidence, progression, and prognosis of melanoma in posttransplant immunosuppressed populations.

Woringer-Kolopp disease mimicking foot dermatitis.

Woringer-Kolopp disease, also known as localized pagetoid reticulosis, is a rare cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorder classified as a solitary variant of mycosis fungoides (MF). Despite the indolent and benign nature of the disease, misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment may result in years of debilitating symptoms and even loss of function. We present the case of a patient with long-standing Woringer-Kolopp disease that mimicked foot dermatitis. Histopathologic examination demonstrated epidermotropic infiltration of atypical lymphocytes that were CD3+ CD4- CD8-. The patient was successfully treated with topical keratolytics and bexarotene gel 1% with minimal residual lesions after 8 years of follow-up. We discuss the characteristics of this rare disease in contrast with localized MF as well as more aggressive forms of epidermotropic T-cell lymphoma.

Cutaneous malignancy in adolescents.

There is compelling epidemiologic evidence that cutaneous malignancies, most notably malignant melanoma and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, are increasing in incidence. The adolescent population is also affected by this rise in incidence, but can represent both a unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Herein we present up-to-date epidemiology, clinical presentation, risk factors for development, and management options for malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma as each pertains to the adolescent population. Prevention in this age group is particularly addressed. One unifying theme that emerges is that a high degree of clinical suspicion and vigilance must be maintained to recognize these entities early on in their presentations.

Multicenter phase II trial of enzastaurin in patients with relapsed or refractory advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

This multicenter, single-arm, open-label non-randomized phase II trial (NCT00744991) was conducted in patients with recurrent/refractory mycosis fungoides (MF), stage IB-IVB, or Sézary syndrome (SS). A Simon two-stage design required 25 patients enrolled in stage 1 with ≥7 confirmed objective responses for expansion into stage 2. Patients were treated with oral enzastaurin (250 mg twice daily) until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed response rate; secondary endpoints were time to objective response, response duration, time-to-progression, patient-reported pruritus, and safety/tolerability. Twenty-five patients were enrolled. A partial response was observed in one patient with MF. Median time-to-progression was 78 and 44 days in MF and SS, respectively. Self-reported pruritus relief and improved composite pruritus-specific symptom scores were documented in six and four patients, respectively. Enzastaurin was well tolerated with mostly grade 1-2 adverse events, mainly diarrhea and fatigue. There were two adverse event-related drug discontinuations with one possibly treatment-related.

Lymphocutaneous nocardiosis: a case report and review of the literature.

Nocardiosis remains a fairly uncommon disease in the United States. Cutaneous nocardiosis is one of many infections that can spread in a sporotrichoid pattern and therefore can be difficult to diagnose without a high index of suspicion. It is mainly caused by Nocardia asteroides and Nocardia brasiliensis, with N brasiliensis isolated in most cases of lymphocutaneous nocardiosis. We present a case of lymphocutaneous nocardiosis in a 65-year-old immunosuppressed man and review the literature.

Gene correction reduces cutaneous inflammation and granuloma formation in murine X-linked chronic granulomatous disease.

Our laboratory previously demonstrated that X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) mice develop exaggerated inflammatory responses and form granulomas following intradermal challenge with sterile Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) hyphae. In this study, we examined the efficacy of retroviral-mediated gene transfer (RMGT) into X-CGD bone marrow stem cells in preventing this abnormal inflammatory response. Sterile AF or saline was injected subcutaneously into the ears of wild-type, female X-CGD carrier, X-CGD, or X-CGD mice chimeric for varying numbers of either wild-type or RMGT-corrected neutrophils. Intradermal AF induced marked inflammation at both 3 and 30 d in the X-CGD mice, but not in the carriers or the wild-type mice. Similar to wild-type mice, chimeric X-CGD mice with >20% oxidase-positive neutrophils displayed a minimal and self-limited inflammatory response. Inflammation in chimeric (both wild-type and RMGT-corrected) mice with <15% oxidase-positive neutrophils was also improved compared to X-CGD mice, although still abnormal. This is the first evidence that partial correction of NADPH oxidase activity by gene therapy is likely to be beneficial in reducing or preventing the chronic inflammatory complications of CGD patients if sufficient numbers of RMGT-corrected neutrophils are obtained.