What is the difference between mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome?

Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. 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.

Can mycosis fungoides turn into Sézary syndrome?

It is hypothesized that Sezary syndrome can evolve gradually from mycosis fungoides or occur spontaneously. Patients with this condition have skin involvement characterized by erythematous plaques or flat patches which may be single or multiple.

What does Sézary syndrome look like?

Most patients with Sézary syndrome have extensive red, itchy rash covering at least 80 percent of the body. In some cases, thicker, red patches (or plaques) and tumors may also appear. In addition, these symptoms may be accompanied by changes in the nails, hair, eyelids, and the presence of enlarged lymph nodes.

Is T-cell lymphoma the same as mycosis fungoides?

Description. Mycosis fungoides is the most common form of a type of blood cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

What can mycosis fungoides be mistaken for?

Mycosis fungoides is often mistaken for common skin conditions such as psoriasis, chronic dermatitis or chronic fungal infection.

Mycosis Fungoides and Sèzary Syndrome

Can mycosis fungoides be misdiagnosed?

Yes, my rash was very limited at first: quite faint and small for the first 10-13 years, but in my case it was misdiagnosed as being a rare but benign skin condition (I was @21).

How do you get Sézary syndrome?

The cause of Sézary syndrome is unknown. Most affected individuals have one or more chromosomal abnormalities, such as the loss or gain of genetic material. These abnormalities occur during a person's lifetime and are found only in the DNA of cancerous cells.

What are Sézary cells?

(sey-zah-REE sel) A cancerous T cell (a type of white blood cell) found in the blood, skin, and lymph nodes of patients who have a fast-growing type of skin lymphoma called Sézary syndrome. Under a microscope, Sézary cells have an abnormally shaped nucleus and look larger than normal T cells.

What type of lymphoma is mycosis fungoides?

Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. 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.

What triggers mycosis fungoides?

The exact cause of mycosis fungoides is not known. Current theories include antigen persistence, retroviruses (e.g., HTLV-1, etc.), and exposure to cancer-causing (carcinogenic) substances.

How do you test for Sézary syndrome?

Blood tests allow doctors to measure the level of white blood cells in the body, which can determine whether you have Sézary syndrome. People with mycosis fungoides usually do not have cancerous T-cell lymphocytes circulating in the blood. When they do, it is a sign that the condition may be more advanced.

How long can you live with Sézary syndrome?

Median survival for patients with Sézary syndrome has been reported to be 2-4 years, although the median survival was 2.9 years among patients defined by 2011 criteria for the disease. The disease-specific 5-year survival rate has been reported to be 24%.

Can Sézary syndrome be cured?

But in Sézary syndrome, cancerous lymphocytes (Sézary cells) spread from the skin to the blood. The cancer can also travel to the lymph nodes and other areas of the body. Sézary syndrome is an aggressive disease, meaning it spreads fast. Treatment can help manage the effects of the disease, but there's no cure.

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.

What is the life expectancy of someone 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).

Is Sézary syndrome terminal?

Sézary syndrome has features of both an aggressive and chronic lymphoma. Short of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the disease is not felt to be curable and survival is shortened for most affected patients. However, there are multiple therapies with response rates in the 30 to 50% range.

How do you rule out mycosis fungoides?

Is there a blood test for mycosis fungoides?

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 an autoimmune disease?

Mycosis Fungoides is a very rare disease, it's not a skin cancer although it manifests in the skin, it's actually a blood cancer that destroys your T Cells, it's an autoimmune disease, rendering your immune system useless.

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.

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.

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.

Does mycosis fungoides always progress?

Mycosis fungoides follows a slow, chronic (indolent) course and very often does not spread beyond the skin. In about 10% of cases, MF can progress to lymph nodes and internal organs.

What is the best treatment for mycosis fungoides?

For more extensive disease phototherapy, electron beam therapy, or systemic agents such as interferon alpha, bexarotene, or methotrexate can be used. Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most prevalent cutaneous lymphoma.

Is mycosis fungoides caused by a bacterial infection?

Conclusions: Community-acquired bacterial skin infections are a common cause of morbidity in patients with mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome but are usually treated without hospital admission.