A dramatic presentation of an unusual form of cutaneous lymphoma

We report an unusual and dramatic presentation of a rare form of cutaneous lymphoma, known as subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL). This patient presented with a pruritic, florid and purpuric rash that was diagnosed as lobular panniculitis and treated with oral steroids for 1 year...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of dermatology 2015-07, Vol.60 (4), p.422-422
Main Authors: Yang, Sam Shiyao, Su, Pei Qi, Tan, Kong-Bing, Aw, Derrick Chen-Wee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipocytes
Bone marrow
Care and treatment
Case studies
Chemotherapy
Corticosteroids
Diagnosis
Disease
E-IJD Case Report
Health aspects
Histology
Lymphoma
Medical prognosis
NMR
Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas
Nuclear magnetic resonance
panniculitis
Patient outcomes
Psoriasis
purpura
Risk factors
Skin
Stem cells
subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma
Tomography
Transplants & implants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report an unusual and dramatic presentation of a rare form of cutaneous lymphoma, known as subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL). This patient presented with a pruritic, florid and purpuric rash that was diagnosed as lobular panniculitis and treated with oral steroids for 1 year with no success. His skin lesions would return each time oral corticosteroids were being weaned off. Upon presentation to our clinic, repeated deep skin biopsies with immunohistochemical analysis coupled with the clinical history of persistent B symptoms and the presence of pancytopenia helped clinched the rare diagnosis of SPTCL with hemophagocytosis. The patient was then started on cyclosporine and dexamethasone before definitive chemotherapy. This rare and diagnostically challenging condition is commonly misdiagnosed as benign panniculitis or eczema, and highlights the importance of repeated skin biopsies.
ISSN:0019-5154
1998-3611
DOI:10.4103/0019-5154.160532