Lymphoma is a disease that affects the lymphatic system of the body, causing an excessive production of different types of cells. The presence in excess of dysfunctional, malignant cells can cause a lot of damage to the organism. Due to their abnormally fast rate of multiplication, the dysfunctional cells accumulate in different regions of the lymphatic system (lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils), causing inflammation and pronounced swelling. There are many forms of lymphoma, and each type of disease has a different pattern of progression, generating a wide range of symptoms. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a type of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which primarily affects the skin. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can either affect the superficial layers of the skin or it can spread to deeper levels of the derma. It is important to note that cutaneous T-cell is not confined to the skin; as the disease progresses, it can become systemic, affecting the body on multiple levels.
Although the actual causes of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma remain unknown, medical scientists believe that both genetic and environmental factors play major roles in the occurrence and the progression of the disease. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma seems to occur on the background of a compromised immune system, and it commonly affects people with HIV. Other categories of risk are: people who have followed prolonged chemotherapy or medical treatments for cancer (treatments with immunosupressants) and people who have suffered surgical interventions (organ transplant).
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a common subtype of cutaneous lymphoma, affecting the production of helper T lymphocytes. These cells have a very important role in protecting the organism from infectious agents and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma causes an overproduction of similar, but dysfunctional cells, which can't act as their normal counterparts. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma usually evolves slowly, generating more intense symptoms at advanced stages of disease. However, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has an unpredictable pattern of evolution and in some cases the disease can rapidly spread throughout the entire body.
The clinical signs of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma are inflammation, swelling and lesions on the surface of the skin. The disease generally affects small patches of skin, although in some cases it can even cause tumors of the lymphatic system's tissues and organs. At the skin level, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can resemble a wide range of benign disorders (non-cancerous), such as psoriasis, eczema or dermatitis. Due to this fact, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can easily be mistaken for a localized non-cancerous skin disorder if the disease is diagnosed only upon clinical signs. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can be correctly diagnosed only through the means of elaborate blood tests and laboratory analysis of skin samples. The process of diagnosing the disease often requires a biopsy of the affected tissues, medical procedure that can confirm the presence of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Medical treatments and therapies available today can effectively overcome cutaneous T-cell lymphoma if the disease is discovered in time. However, for patients who develop systemic forms of the disease, the prognosis is usually uncertain, as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is very difficult to treat at more advanced stages. The medical treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma usually involves local chemotherapy, exposure to ultraviolet light and exposure to electro beam radiation.
Tcells are characterized by the presence on their surface of a protein receptor known as CD4 that's why they are called CD4+. Tcells accumulate under the skin in the epidermal layer and the skin has a consequent reaction such as: lesions that itch, those lesions may be present on any part of the body. As the disease advances the lesions become red plaques after which progresses to mushroom shaped skin tumors named mycosis fungoides with the involvement of the viscera and lymph nodes.
Visceral involvement is not very high, but it appears for sure in all patients diagnosed with the disease cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and is in direct proportion with the skin affectation. So when the skin is very affected we expect to find the viscera- internal organs in the abdomen affected too.
S'zary syndrome appears as a complication of the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Its symptoms are: swollen lymph nodes and a large number of abnormal cells in the blood, with atrophic and lichenified skin and intense itching or the skin may be only red overall without plaques and tumors. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma hasn't such a high incidence in United States it is more common in Eastern Europe. It is manifested more often in men than in women and in the age group of 55-60 years.
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma-Symptoms
The cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cause is unknown. Studies made by scientists have demonstrated that it may have a viral cause because there have been discovered viruses in the cells taken from patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, another possible cause could be the exposure to pesticides or chemicals, but there are not sufficient proofs to sustain this cause.
The most evident symptom cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is that of itching skin, the viscera may also be affected and manifests with disorders of the central nervous system, liver, lungs, upper digestive tract. Any part of the skin may be affected with the extent of the rash and tumors, the symptoms may include swelling of the lymph nodes with draining on the skin. Because cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has a slow progression it may be easily confused with any other benign disease of the skin: eczema, psoriasis, and contact dermatitis. In early stages the disease may respond well to topical corticosteroid treatments which are usually recommended in those skin disorders. So the patient may be thinking he is cured . If the testing is continued with skin biopsies and molecular studies such as: Southern blot analysis, abnormal cells are observed.
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