What is CTCL?

What is CTCL?

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare type of cancer that affects the skin. It starts in blood cells called T-lymphocytes. These are white blood cells that are part of your immune system. They normally fight infection.

Can CTCL spread?

In approximately 10 percent of individuals with the classic mycosis fungoides presentation of CTCL, malignant lymphocytes may spread beyond the skin to affect the lymph nodes and major organs of the body including the liver, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

What causes CTCL?

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affects the skin. CTCL can develop when T-cells become abnormal (cancerous). T-cells are white blood cells that normally help fight infection. They are sometimes called T-lymphocytes.

Is Lymphomatoid Papulosis a cancer?

Lymphomatoid papulosis may come and go for months or many years. Although it is a harmless disease of the skin, patients with this condition are at higher risk for types of cancers called lymphomas. Therefore, it is important for patients to undergo regular follow-up with their primary care physician and dermatologist.

How is CTCL treated?

Management of MF/SS should use a “stage-based” approach; treatment of early-stage disease (IA-IIA) typically involves skin directed therapies that include topical corticosteroids, phototherapy (psoralen plus ultraviolet A radiation or ultraviolet B radiation), topical chemotherapy, topical or systemic bexarotene, and …

Can CTCL be cured?

While CTCL cannot be cured, advances in treating this cancer are making these goals possible for more patients. Today, many people who have CTCL die of another cause.

Is Lymphomatoid Papulosis an autoimmune disorder?

Lymphomatoid Papulosis (LyP) is a disease of the immune system that presents with self-healing small bumps and spots on the skin that come and go. It can be persistent, with frequent, recurring eruptions, or it can disappear for an extended period of time before showing up again.

Is CTCL common?

CTCL is a rare form of T-cell lymphoma. There are about 3,000 new cases of CTCL in the U.S. each year, and about 16,000 – 20,000 Americans have mycosis fungoides.

What does CTCL look like?

Most T-cell skin lymphomas begin as patches of dry, discoloured skin (usually red), commonly on the buttocks or between the waist and shoulders (torso), but they can develop in other places. These patches may be itchy. They can look like more common skin conditions, such as dermatitis, eczema or psoriasis.

Is LyP an autoimmune disease?

The lymphoid-specific tyrosine phosphatase (Lyp) has received enormous attention because of the finding that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene (PTPN22) encoding Lyp is associated with several autoimmune diseases, including type I diabetes (3), rheumatoid arthritis (4, 5), Graves disease (6), and …

What does CTCL stand for in medical terms?

CTCL, also known as mycosis fungoides, is a cancer of the white blood cells that primarily affects the skin and only secondarily affects other sites.

Why is CTCL sometimes referred to as skin cancer?

CTCL is sometimes wrongly referred to as a skin cancer because it affects the skin, but this is not a precise use of the term “skin cancer.”

Which is the most common type of CTCL?

Mycosis Fungoides (MF): the most common type of CTCL, accounting for approximately one-half of all CTCLs. MF can look different in each patient, with skin symptoms that can appear as patches, plaques, or tumors.

What are the procedures to diagnose CTCL?

Typical procedures done to diagnose CTCL include: a skin and/or lymph node biopsy (removal of a small piece of tissue) for examination under the microscope by a pathologist (a doctor who studies tissues and cells to identify diseases);