Syringotropic Mycosis Fungoides: A Rare Form of Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma Enabling a Histopathologic "Sigh of Relief".

Syringotropic mycosis fungoides (STMF) is a very rare variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. It follows a much milder disease course than its clinically indistinguishable adnexal counterpart, folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (FMF). We report a case of a 36-year-old man who presented with erythematous, studded papules and plaques on the left upper extremity and right anterior thigh diagnosed as mycosis fungoides (MF) Stage 1A on initial superficial shave biopsy. Lesions recurred after initial improvement with narrow-band ultraviolet light therapy demonstrating a concentration of abnormal lymphocytes around eccrine sweat glands on repeat biopsy consistent with STMF. Although the deeper, periadnexal infiltrate found in both STMF and FMF confers increased resistance to skin-directed therapies effective in classic MF, these entities diverge with respect to their clinical behavior. Syringotropism is a marker for increased disease-specific survival, whereas even FMF carries a prognosis worse than conventional MF. Increased awareness among the dermatopathology community of the histopathologic distinction between STMF and FMF is essential to guide treatment type, duration, and intensity in adnexal disease.

Histologic changes associated with talaporfin sodium-mediated photodynamic therapy in rat skin.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Alternative treatments are needed to achieve consistent and more complete port wine stain (PWS) removal, especially in darker skin types; photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative treatment. To this end, we previously reported on Talaporfin Sodium (TS)-mediated PDT. It is essential to understand treatment tissue effects to design a protocol that will achieve selective vascular injury without ulceration and scarring. The objective of this work is to assess skin changes associated with TS-mediated PDT with clinically relevant treatment parameters. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed TS (0.75 mg/kg)-mediated PDT (664 nm) on Sprague Dawley rats. Radiant exposures were varied between 15 and 100 J/cm2 . We took skin biopsies from subjects at 9 hours following PDT. We assessed the degree and depth of vascular and surrounding tissue injury using histology and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: TS-mediated PDT at 0.75 mg/kg combined with 15 and 25 J/cm2 light doses resulted in vascular injury with minimal epidermal damage. At light dose of 50 J/cm2 , epidermal damage was noted with vascular injury. At light doses >50 J/cm2 , both vascular and surrounding tissue injury were observed in the forms of vasculitis, extravasated red blood cells, and coagulative necrosis. Extensive coagulative necrosis involving deeper adnexal structures was observed for 75 and 100 J/cm2 light doses. Observed depth of injury increased with increasing radiant exposure, although this relationship was not linear. CONCLUSION: TS-mediated PDT can cause selective vascular injury; however, at higher light doses, significant extra-vascular injury was observed. This information can be used to contribute to design of safe protocols to be used for treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:767-772, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CD30 Positive Lymphomatoid Angiocentric Drug Reactions: Characterization of a Series of 20 Cases.

INTRODUCTION: Lymphomatoid drug reactions are atypical T cell cutaneous lymphocytic infiltrates induced by pharmacological therapy. Due to phenotypic abnormalities, clonality, and their close clinical and morphologic resemblance to T cell lymphomas, these eruptions have been categorized as drug-associated reversible granulomatous T cell dyscrasias. DESIGN: A total of 20 cases were encountered in which a diagnosis of CD30 lymphomatoid drug reaction was rendered. RESULTS: There were 11 women and 9 men ranging from 31 to 86 years of age presenting with a sudden onset often generalized cutaneous papular eruption. Two patients had vasculitic lesions. In all cases, a positive drug history was elicited and in most the initiation of the drug was temporally associated with the cutaneous eruption. Among the implicated drugs were statins (6 cases), immunomodulators (4 cases), ACE inhibitors (3 cases), antibiotics (3 cases), chemotherapy agents (3 cases), and antidepressants (1 case). Biopsies demonstrated a similar morphology, namely a superficial angiocentric lymphocytic infiltrate containing many immunoblasts. Tissue eosinophilia, interface dermatitis, and supervening eczematous changes in the overlying epidermis were observed in most cases. In all cases, the angiocentric infiltrate was highlighted by CD3, CD30, and CD4. Cytotoxic protein granule expression or monoclonality was not observed. In all cases, there was improvement or complete regression of the eruption upon drug modulation. CONCLUSION: The CD30 positive lymphomatoid angiocentric drug reaction poses a diagnostic challenge because of its close resemblance to type A lymphomatoid papulosis and potential confusion with a peripheral T cell lymphoma with large cell transformation.