Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2025
Isolating Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and CD4+ T cells from Sézary Syndrome Patients for Transcriptomic Profiling
Published on: October 14, 2021
Predictors of large cell transformation in patients with Sezary Syndrome-A retrospective analysis
Neil K Jairath1, Redina Bardhi2, John S Runge1
1Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
Background:
Large cell transformation (LCT) of Sezary Syndrome (SS) is a rare phenomenon. To date, there are no rigorous studies identifying risk factors for its development.
Objectives:
Here, we seek to characterize the clinicopathologic risk factors that predispose patients with SS to develop LCT.
Methods:
We retrospectively evaluated all SS patient records available in the Michigan Medicine Cancer Registry from 2010-2021. Clinical and pathologic variables were compared between groups. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to assess overall survival.
Results:
Of 28 SS patients identified, eight patients experienced LCT, and 20 did not (NLCT). Peak lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) before LCT (p = 0.0012), maximum total body surface area (TBSA) involvement before LCT (p = 0.0114), absolute CD8+ cell count measured on flow cytometry at diagnosis of SS (p = 0.0455) and at the most recent blood draw (p = 0.00736), and ulceration on biopsy (p = 0.0034) were significant clinicopathologic variables identified between the SS patients that developed LCT versus those that did not.
Conclusions:
Maximum TBSA involvement, peak LDH, presence of ulceration, and decreased levels of CD8+ cells in the peripheral blood may predict the development of LCT in patients with SS.
