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.

Does T-cell lymphoma have stages?

The staging of the most common type of CTCL, mycosis fungoides/Sézary syndrome (MF/SS) is classified into stages IA through IVB using the T (tumor, which for CTCL is patches or plaques), N (lymph node), M (presence of metastasis), B (presence of blood involvement) (TNMB) system.

Is mycosis a cancer?

Description. Mycosis fungoides is the most common form of a type of blood cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas occur when certain white blood cells, called T cells , become cancerous; these cancers characteristically affect the skin, causing different types of skin lesions.

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.

Does mycosis fungoides spread quickly?

Mycosis fungoides usually develops slowly and moves through four phases. But not everyone goes through all of them: First phase: A scaly red rash, usually in areas that don't get sunlight, such as your rear end; there are no other symptoms in this phase, and it may last months or even years.

Unmet needs in early-stage mycosis fungoides

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.

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.

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 long can you live with 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).

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.

Is mycosis fungoides malignant?

Mycosis fungoides is a type of lymphoma, the most common form of blood cancer. In mycosis fungoides, malignant (cancerous) cells in the blood travel to the skin. This causes lesions that appear as an itchy rash.

How often does mycosis fungoides progress?

Consistently, the results of this and other recent studies^10,12,13 indicate that the risk of disease progression within the first 10 years after diagnosis is about 5% to 10% for patients with stage Ia and between 17% and 39% for patients with stage Ib disease.

How is mycosis spread?

In the right circumstances the fungi enter the body via the lungs, through the gut, paranasal sinuses or skin. The fungi can then spread via the bloodstream to multiple organs including the skin, often causing multiple organs to fail and eventually resulting in the death of the patient.

What is the best treatment for 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.

What is worse T-cell or B cell lymphoma?

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas have a worse prognosis than B-cell lymphomas: a prospective study of 361 immunophenotyped patients treated with the LNH-84 regimen.

How quickly does CTCL progress?

CTCL is often a slow-growing cancer. It develops over many years.

Can you survive 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.

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 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.

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.

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 mycosis fungoides a non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

Mycosis fungoides (MF) constitutes the most common primary cutaneous T cell lymphoma. Its classic form is defined as an indolent CD4+ non-Hodgkin lymphoma which manifests itself initially as scaly patches that may evolve into plaques and/or tumors. Multiple clinicopathological variants have been reported.

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.

Is cutaneous T-cell lymphoma serious?

Most CTCLs typically fall into the category of indolent (i.e. chronic) lymphomas – treatable, but not curable and usually not life-threatening.

Why is it called mycosis fungoides?

The name mycosis fungoides is very misleading—it loosely means "mushroom-like fungal disease". The disease, however, is not a fungal infection but rather a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was so named because Alibert described the skin tumors of a severe case as having a mushroom-like appearance.