Can you live a normal life with mycosis fungoides?

Patients with stage IA-disease have an excellent prognosis with an overall long-term life expectancy that is similar to an age-, sex-, and race-matched control population. Almost all patients with stage IA MF will die from causes other than MF, with a median survival >33 years.

Can you live with mycosis fungoides?

Mycosis fungoides is an indolent cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Long term survival is common among patients in the early stages, but deaths from this disorder regrettably remain common among those with more advanced disease.

What is life expectancy for mycosis fungoides?

The overall survival and disease-specific survivals of our 525 patients with MF are shown in Figure 1. The median survival was 11.4 years, and the actuarial overall survival rates at 5, 10, and 30 years were 68%, 53%, and 17%, respectively. The median follow-up time was 5.5 years (range, 0.1-38.5 years).

How serious is mycosis fungoides?

For many people, the first sign of mycosis fungoides is a skin rash that is otherwise symptom-free. Without treatment, this rash may become itchy or develop ulcers. There is no cure for mycosis fungoides. With timely treatment, many people experience years with no symptoms.

Do mycosis fungoides come and go?

Classic mycosis fungoides

They can disappear spontaneously, stay the same size or slowly enlarge. They are most common on the chest, back or buttocks but can occur anywhere. They are often mistaken for more common skin conditions, such as eczema or psoriasis, sometimes for many years.

Mycosis Fungoides and Cutaneous Lymphomas

How fast does mycosis fungoides progress?

Consequently, the overall average disease duration in progressing patients is 12.4 years. Blast transformation occurs in 85% of all cases in the tumor stage. Conclusions: The course of progressing MF is chronic and advancing. The progression is initially slow and later accelerates.

Can mycosis fungoides go into remission?

Half of the patients with patch stage mycosis fungoides and also half of the patients with plaque stage mycosis fungoides were in complete remission when the study ended. Most of them had remission periods for years after early PUVA treatment.

How do I get rid of mycosis fungoides?

Treatment methods for mycosis fungoides include photochemotherapy (PUVA), topical steroids, short courses of UVB (during winter months), a drug known as topical nitrogen mustard (mechlorethamine), interferons, oral retinoid therapy, and/or photopheresis.

How does mycosis fungoides progress?

According to the major textbooks, MF is an indolent type of CTCL that slowly evolves through patch, plaque, and tumor stages before lymph nodes and visceral organs become involved, and ultimately a rapidly progressive and fatal disease develops.

What causes mycosis fungoides to flare up?

Doctors don't know what causes mycosis fungoides. It could be related to a virus, exposure to a chemical, or your genes. It can happen at any age, but most people get it in their 50s or 60s. Men are two times more likely than women to have it.

How long can a person live with T-cell lymphoma?

Among all histological type subgroups, the prognosis of NK/T-cell lymphoma was the worst with the 3-year survival rate of only 25%u the 3-year survival rate was 40% in unspecified peripheral T-cell lymphoma group,and 85% in angioimmunoblast T-cell lymphoma group.

Is mycosis fungoides a stage?

Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS) stages range from I (1) through IV (4). As a rule, the lower the number, the less the cancer has spread. A higher number, such as stage IV, means cancer has spread more. And within a stage, an earlier letter means a lower stage.

How long can you live with skin lymphoma?

Patients who have stage IIB disease with cutaneous tumors have a median survival rate of 3.2 years (10-year survival rate of 42%) Patients who have stage III disease (generalized erythroderma) have a median survival rate of 4-6 years (10-year survival rate of 83%)

Is cutaneous lymphoma fatal?

Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma is a form of cancer that causes immune system dysfunction that leads to skin health concerns. Like other forms of cancer, Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma can be deadly, especially if the condition goes untreated until it reaches the advanced stages.

Can mycosis fungoides be misdiagnosed?

According to Dr. Harvey, mycosis fungoides is difficult to diagnose—both clinically and under a microscope—so it often goes misdiagnosed for years. It can take multiple biopsies for the cancer to show up in a sample, which explains why the cancer wasn't confirmed in the biopsy my second dermatologist did.

Does cutaneous T-cell lymphoma go away?

There is no cure for CTCL but many patients are able to keep the disease under control and remain free of symptoms for years. Most patients receiving treatment for early-stage mycosis fungoides have a normal life expectancy.

What are the early stages of mycosis fungoides?

Who is at risk for mycosis fungoides?

Age: Mycosis fungoides occurs most often in patients older than age 60, however can be seen at any age. Sex: Mycosis fungoides is twice as common in men as women. Race: Mycosis fungoides is somewhat more common in blacks.

Is cutaneous lymphoma a terminal?

Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas make up 75% to 80% of cutaneous lymphomas. Most CTCLs are indolent (slow growing) and not life threatening. CTCLs are treatable, but they are not curable unless the patient undergoes a stem cell transplant (see later). There are several different types of CTCL.

Is mycosis fungoides cancerous?

Mycosis fungoides is a rare kind of skin cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Also called granuloma fungoides, this skin disease may look like a fungal rash but is not caused by a fungus. Mycosis fungoides is a chronic condition that can slowly worsen over time.

What doctor treats mycosis fungoides?

Christiane Querfeld is a Dermatologist in Duarte, California. Dr. Querfeld has been practicing medicine for over 28 years and is rated as an Elite doctor by MediFind in the treatment of Mycosis Fungoides.

What is mycosis fungoides patch stage?

The patch stage of mycosis fungoides is characterized by usually erythematous macules that may have a fine scale, may be single or multiple, and may be pruritic (see the image below). In dark-skinned individuals, the patches may appear as hypopigmented or hyperpigmented areas.

How common is mycosis fungoides?

Mycosis fungoides occurs in about 1 in 100,000 to 350,000 individuals. It accounts for approximately 70 percent of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. For unknown reasons, mycosis fungoides affects males nearly twice as often as females. In the United States, there are an estimated 3.6 cases per million people each year.

Does mycosis fungoides show up in blood work?

A sign of mycosis fungoides is a red rash on the skin. In Sézary syndrome, cancerous T-cells are found in the blood. Tests that examine the skin and blood are used to diagnose mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome.

Is Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides curable?

Although the prognosis for HMF is generally good, HMF is a malignant skin tumor and should always be treated as such.