[Primary cutaneous lymphoma, with the exception of mycosis fungoides]

Cutaneous lymphomas other than mycosis fungoides (MF) form a rare and heterogeneous group. Their clinical behavior remains largely unknown. In this study, the clinical, immunohistological characteristics and follow-up data of 27 well-documented cases of primary cutaneous lymphomas other than MF, limited to the skin (stage IE) were reviewed. The tumors were divided into large-cell lymphomas (LCL) (21/27 = 77 p. 100) and small-cell lymphomas (SML) (6/27 = 23 p. 100). A B-cell phenotype was most often expressed by cutaneous lymphomas (23/27 = 85 p. 100). The clinical course of cutaneous lymphoma was closely dependent upon the histological subtype. Fourteen patients with LCL were treated by radiotherapy alone. Nine patients (64 p. 100) relapsed within two years post-treatment. Seven of them relapsed in the skin outside the initial site, suggesting that radiotherapy alone is not an adequate treatment for these patients. The preliminary results concerning 7 other patients with LCL treated with an initial third generation polychemotherapy regimen are presented.