Second malignancies in cutaneous T cell lymphoma

Among sixty-three cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients seen over a 15-year period at the Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), 15.9% had a second malignancy. This is a higher frequency of second malignancies than has been documented previously in any series of CTCL patients. We evaluated the incidence of subsequent primary malignancies in these CTCL patients by comparing our series of patients to a general population. The overall cancer incidence rate in the CTCL patients was 2.4 times, and in white male patients 3.3 times, greater than expected. We also compared various characteristics of CTCL patients with and without a second malignancy to evaluate potential predisposing factors. A history of prior chemotherapy and a family history of malignancy among first order relatives were more common among CTCL patients who developed a second malignancy.