[Immuno-intervention in cutaneous lymphomas]

Cutaneous lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders. Most of the cutaneous lymphomas present a rather good prognosis because they disseminate to internal organs late in the disease process, if at all. Since radiotherapy and intensive chemotherapy have limited efficacy, immunological interventions are regularly used in this disease group. These interventions include unspecific treatment modalities such as Interferon-alpha, Interleukin-2, but also rather specific interventions like photopheresis, fusion toxins and as a new development, antigen-loaded dendritic cells. A new humanized anti CD20-antibody can be used for patients with cutaneous B-cell lymphomas, expressing the B-cell antigen CD20 in most of the cases. We expect that new information on the immunobiology of these diseases will allow more specific immunological interventions, providing the basis for a better therapy with optimal tolerability for patients suffering from cutaneous lymphomas.