Diagnostic classifier for cutaneous T-cell lymphomas

Primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) are a form of skin cancer that is derived from immune cells (white blood cells). The most common form of CTCL is mycosis fungoides (MF). While initially confined to the skin, MF may spread to lymph nodes, blood or inner organs, resulting in an overall poor prognosis for the patient. Thus, being a potentially lethal disease, an early and correct diagnosis of MF has very important implications for the patient. However, diagnosis of early MF is often difficult, as it usually shows a close resemblance to benign inflammatory conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Strikingly, it takes an average of 3-6 (!) years from the appearance of the first skin lesions until a diagnosis of MF can be made. For this reason, a test to distinguishing early MF from benign inflammatory conditions is urgently mandated. By using suction blister fluid as well as skin biopsies from patients wi th MF, eczema and psoriasis, we want to develop a test system that can distinguish early MF from benign inflammatory skin diseases, that will be validated in independent patient groups. We believe that such a test would have a profound impact on the diagnosis and care of patients suffering from this malignant and potentially lethal skin condition. This study will be conducted by Dr. Patrick Brunner (project leader) at the Department of Dermatology of the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

Primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) are a form of skin cancer that is derived from immune cells (white blood cells). The most common form of CTCL is mycosis fungoides (MF). While initially confined to the skin, MF may spread to lymph nodes, blood or inner organs, resulting in an overall poor prognosis for the patient. Thus, being a potentially lethal disease, an early and correct diagnosis of MF has very important consequences for the patient. However, diagnosis of early MF is often difficult, as it usually shows a close resemblance to often harmless inflammatory conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Strikingly, it takes an average of almost 6 (!) years from the appearance of the first skin lesions until a correct diagnosis of MF is made. For this reason, a test to distinguishing early MF from benign inflammatory conditions is urgently mandated. With help of the FWF, we were able to identify markers associated with the progression of MF, and we could identify biomarkers that might be able to distinguish MF from eczema, parapsoriasis and psoriasis in the future. This project has been conducted at the Department of Dermatology of the Medical University of Vienna.