Indications of a considerable decrease in the death rate in mycosis fungoides by PUVA treatment

PUVA therapy has its roots in ancient India and Egypt and began to come into general use in the highly developed countries in the middle of the 1970's (1). The first reports of PUVA treatment of mycosis fungoides were published in 1976 (2); these were followed by several other studies in the two following years (3-7). Some of the early work on PUVA therapy was carried out in Sweden (8,9), and the modality was in general use in most major clinics by 1977. The dramatic effect on mycosis fungoides of PUVA therapy is well known, but whether the death rate is influenced is not known. For ethical reasons no controlled clinical studies have been performed. Sweden is a highly organized country with reliable death statistics at least for diseases as conspicuous as mycosis fungoides. The purpose of the present study was to provide data on the death rate in mycosis fungoides in Sweden from 1961 to 1990, which we think is relevant to the question whether PUVA treatment decreases the death rate in mycosis fungoides.