[Mycosis fungoides in a Gabonese patient infected with HTLV-I]

Association of human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) with T-cell malignancy is well-known but its relationship with mycosis fungoides is controversial. Typical mycosis fungoides was diagnosed at tumor stage in a 58-year-old Gabonese woman also infected with HTLV-1. Infection with lymphoma of the skin is uncommon in Africa but it is probably underestimated. Association of mycosis fungoides with retrovirus infection could be coincidental since there is a high prevalence of HTLV-1 in Gabon and the only currently recognized association is T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. However recent data indicate the presence of similar retrovirus particles and a common tax gene in the monocytes of most patients presenting mycosis fungoides.