Primary cutaneous lymphoma of the head and neck

One hundred three patients with Stage I and II extranodal primary lymphomas of the head and neck were reviewed. Six patients (5%) presented with cutaneous lesions, five with single site and one with multiple sites of involvement. Histopathology was malignant lymphoma (ML) large cell (3), ML small cleaved cell (1), ML small lymphocytic (1), and ML mixed large and small cell (1). Five of six patients relapsed following initial treatment. Four patients were treated with primary radiation therapy, three of which had relapses outside the treatment area. One patient was treated with intralesional steroid injection and also recurred outside the treated area. One patient was treated with radiation and chemotherapy and recurred outside the treatment area. Three patients are alive without disease, two died of disseminated disease, and one died of unrelated causes. Isolated cutaneous presentation of head and neck lymphoma is uncommon. Radiation therapy appears to have been curative in one patient with localized disease. Four patients recurred outside the radiation portals despite careful staging, suggesting that systemic therapy may be necessary for disease control.