Primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type and secondary cutaneous involvement by testicular B-cell lymphoma share identical clinicopathological and immunophenotypical features.

BACKGROUND: Primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PCDLBCL), leg type can eventually disseminate to extracutaneous sites including testes. In addition, patients with testicular lymphoma can develop specific skin involvement. OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe similarities between PCDLBCL, leg type and testicular B-cell lymphoma affecting the skin. METHODS: We report two cases with typical clinicopathological and immunophenotypical features of leg type lymphoma occurring simultaneously with a testicular B-cell lymphoma. We also report an additional case of PCDLBCL, leg type with secondary testicular involvement. RESULTS: All cases presented with typical red tumors exclusively located on the legs. Histologically, all cases showed a diffuse nonepidermotropic infiltrate composed of large blastic cells mainly centroblastic type. Phenotype showed strong positivity for Bcl-2, MUM-1, and FOXP1. Epstein-Barr virus stains and CD30 were negative in the 3 cases. In all cases the testicular infiltration showed the same pathological and phenotypical changes to those observed in the skin. LIMITATIONS: This was a retrospective case series study. CONCLUSION: Skin involvement by testicular B-cell lymphomas and PCDLBCL, leg type are indistinguishable on the basis of pathologic and immunophenotypical features, therefore specific investigation and clinic correlation are needed.

Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides: clinicopathological features and outcome in a series of 20 cases.

BACKGROUND: Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (MF) is a rare variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in which the neoplastic T lymphocytes display tropism for the follicular epithelium. OBJECTIVES: To better categorize this rare form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma we evaluated the clinical, pathological, and immunophenotypic findings, and the response to therapy and course of the disease. METHODS: Folliculotropic MF cases were selected from the registry of the Thematic Network of Cutaneous Lymphoma of Barcelona (Spain) from 1988 to 2007. RESULTS: Twenty patients (11 male, 9 female) with a mean age of 54 years were included. Mean follow-up time was 43 months. The most common sites of involvement were the head and neck (80%), upper extremities, and thorax. Infiltrated plaques (55%), acneiform lesions (comedo-like and epidermal cysts) (45%), and follicular keratosis-pilaris-like lesions (45%) were the more prominent features. Histopathological findings included selective infiltration of the follicular epithelium by atypical lymphocytes in all cases. Mucinous degeneration of the follicular epithelium occurred in 60% of cases. Psoralen plus ultraviolet A therapy was the treatment of choice in the majority of patients, but these patients did not respond as well as patients with classic MF. Radiotherapy (local or total skin electron beam) was found to be the most effective treatment. A good response to bexarotene was seen in some patients. LIMITATION: This was a case series descriptive study. CONCLUSIONS: Folliculotropic MF is a rare but well-defined clinicopathological variant of MF. Although refractory to standard therapies used in classic MF, most of our patients showed only slow disease progression.

Removal of the internal mammary sentinel node in breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the evolution of patients with internal mammary chain (IMC) drainage whether the IMC-sentinel lymph node (IMC-SLN) was biopsied or not, as well as to determine the clinical implications of the biopsy of the IMC-SLN (IMC-SLNB) in patients with breast cancer and IMC drainage in the lymphoscintigraphy. METHODS: Eighty-two out of 914 patients included in a prospective database of sentinel node (9%) showed IMC drainage and were included in the study. Two groups were established depending on the IMC-SLN removal: group A (IMC-SLN were removed): 44 patients, mean age 48.8 years, mean follow-up, 35.8 months. Group B (IMC-SLN were not removed): 38 patients, mean age 54.5 years, mean follow-up, 33.5 months. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to determine the overall survival rates. RESULTS: Group A: four patients showed only IMC drainage, six patients presented positive IMC-SLN, nodal staging changed in five patients, treatment changed in two patients and tumour node metastasis stage grouping changed in three patients. All patients are currently disease-free. Group B: two patients showed only IMC drainage, axillary-SLN were positive in 12 patients, one patient presented nodal axillary and breast recurrence as well as distant disease and one patient presented multiorganic disease. This last patient died. The overall survival rates were very similar in both the groups. CONCLUSION: IMC-SLNB improves nodal staging in breast cancer but has little impact on adjuvant treatment. However, it should be performed to obtain results, which will determine in the future whether it improves survival rates or not.