[Primary cutaneous aggressive epidermotropic cytotoxic CD8 positive T cell lymphoma: report of one case]

Primary cutaneous aggressive epidermotropic cytotoxic CD8 positive T cell lymphoma, is an uncommon disease, with an aggressive clinical behavior. Differentiation with other types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) that express a CD8+ cells, is based only on clinical grounds and in certain morphological characteristics, such as a marked epidermotropism with squamous cell necrosis. We report a 50-year-old male presenting with painless cutaneous lesions appearing in trunk, limbs, scalp and face, suggestive of cutaneous lymphoma. He was admitted to the hospital in bad conditions, with confluent papules and tumors, some of them ulcerated and with foul smelling honey-colored crusts, involving the complete body surface. Cutaneous biopsy demonstrated a CD8 positive epidermotropic cytotoxic T cell lymphoma. He was treated with chemotherapy with an excellent initial response, but cutaneous lesions reappeared after four cycles. He did not respond to rescue chemotherapy and died seven months after diagnosis.