LAHAINA, HAWAII – without bringing in a medical oncologist, Trilokraj Tejasvi, MBBS, said at the Hawaii Dermatology Seminar provided by Global Academy for Medical Education/Skin Disease Education Foundation.
Bruce Jancin/MDedge News
Dr. Trilokraj Tejasvi
This approach is in the best interest of patients with stage I mycosis fungoides, the skin-limited, patch/plaque form of the disease that generally responds well to skin-directed therapies without needing to resort to the medical oncologist’s arsenal of toxic treatments.
“For many medical oncologists, a lymphoma is a lymphoma. The first thing they give is CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone), and all the variants of CHOP,” cautioned Dr. Tejasvi, a dermatologist who is director of the cutaneous lymphoma program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and chief of the dermatology service at the Ann Arbor Veteran Affairs Hospital.
Stage IA mycosis fungoides is defined under the TNMB (tumor, node, metastasis, blood) classification as patches and/or plaques covering less than 10% of body surface area along with negative nodes, no metastases, and no or low burden of disease in the blood. Stage IB differs only in that it features 10% or greater body surface area involvement. The extent of body surface area involvement can be estimated by hands-on measurement in which the area of one of the patient’s hands – palm plus fingers – is considered equivalent to 1% of that individual’s total body surface area.
The first question patients newly diagnosed with a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma ask concerns their prognosis. For those with stage IA or IB mycosis fungoides, the news is very good, as highlighted in a retrospective study of nearly 1,400 patients with mycosis fungoides, 71% of whom presented with patch/plaque stage disease (J Clin Oncol. 2010 Nov 1;28[31]:4730-9).
The median overall survival was 35.5 years in patients with stage IA disease and 21.5 years in those with stage IB disease.
“I tell patients with stage IA disease that whether we treat it or not will not change the course of their life,” Dr. Tejasvri said.
His message to patients with stage IB disease is that, because of their 38% risk of disease progression, he wants to see them in follow-up annually for the rest of their life.
Stage IIA disease – that is, patches and/or plaques with lymph node involvement with no effacement – is a tipping point at which serious consideration should be given to possible referral to a specialized multidisciplinary lymphoma center, in his view. That’s because the 10-year overall survival rate is only 52%.
Topical therapies
Topical corticosteroids remain the time-honored first-line skin-directed treatment. The mechanism of benefit involves induction of apoptosis and inhibition of lymphocyte binding. In one prospective study, clobetasol propionate achieved a 94% overall response rate in patients with stage IA or B disease, with minimal toxicity.
Alternatives include topical 5% imiquimod (Aldara), with an overall response rate of 80% and complete response rate of 45% in a 20-patient study. A newer formulation of mechlorethamine gel (Valchlor), is reported to have a 59% overall response rate and a sustained response in 86% of initial responders. For refractory skin lesions, 1% bexarotene gel (Targretin) is an option, with overall response rates of 44%-63% reported in prospective trials.
“I like it if the patient’s insurance covers it. Otherwise, it’s like buying a Prius: it’s $30,000 for a 45-g tube, which is insane,” Dr. Tejasvi commented.
Narrow-band UVB phototherapy is an effective modality for thin plaques and patches, as is PUVA for thicker ones. Dr. Tejasvi typically treats with topical steroids and/or phototherapy for at least 3 months before tapering.