The main concern is to treat your current lymphoma. Your doctor will weigh up the risks and benefits of treatment and talk you through them. One of the long term side effects of PUVA, particularly with higher doses, is an increased risk of non melanoma skin cancer. Short term side effects may include skin redness, dry and itchy skin, and a rash. CTCL generally comes back and so you may need PUVA treatment again. When treatment finishes, your doctor will monitor you regularly in clinic. Your doctor or nurse will give you advice about protecting your skin and eyes from ultraviolet light and for how long. Psoralen also makes your eyes more sensitive to light, so on the day you have treatment you will need to wear sunglasses, both indoors and outdoors, until bedtime. Or you have it for a maximum of 30 treatments. You usually have treatment 2 times a week until there is no sign of lymphoma. About 2 hours later the doctor shines an ultraviolet light onto your skin. To have the treatment, you take psoralen tablets. Psoralen (P) is a drug that makes your skin very sensitive to ultraviolet light (UVA) for about 24 hours. Psoralen ultraviolet light treatment (PUVA) is very helpful for plaques and larger areas of CTCL. The most common types of CTCL are mycosis fungoides (pronounced my-coh-sis fun-goyd-eez) and Sezary syndrome. For some very slow growing types of CTCL, treatment might not need to start straight away. Knowing the type and grade of the lymphoma helps doctors decide on the best treatment and how soon it should start. Most are slow growing (low grade) but some can be fast growing (high grade). Types of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) So it is not unusual to have more than one biopsy over a number of weeks or months. A specialist doctor (pathologist) examines it under a microscope, looking for cancerous T cells.ĭiagnosing skin lymphoma can be difficult. In the early stages, the skin patches can look like other common conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.ĭoctors diagnose CTCL by taking a sample of the affected skin (a biopsy). With darker skin, the patches may appear lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. Many types of CTCL start as flat red patches on the skin, which can sometimes be itchy. For information about cutaneous B cell lymphoma, visit the Lymphoma Action website. The rest of the information on this page is about cutaneous T cell lymphoma. People tend to have lumps on their skin in 1 or 2 areas, rather than affecting all of the body. Several parts of the body can be affected.ĬBCL is a more unusual type. It causes flat red patches on the skin that look like eczema and can be itchy. cutaneous B cell lymphoma (CBCL) starts in the B cells of the skinĬTCL is the most common type of skin lymphoma.cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) starts in the T cells of the skin.In cutaneous lymphoma the T cells or B cells grow out of control within the skin. ![]() There are 2 types of lymphocytes or white blood cells: So they can't fight infection as normal white blood cells do. They start to divide constantly but don't develop fully. When you have lymphoma, some of your lymphocytes don't work properly. The lymph contains a high number of white blood cells (lymphocytes) which fight infection. Tissue fluid called lymph circulates around the body in these vessels and flows through the lymph nodes. ![]() The thin tubes are called lymph vessels or lymphatic vessels. The lymphatic system is a network of thin tubes and lymph nodes that run throughout the body. Lymphoma is cancer of the lymphatic system. Skin (cutaneous) lymphoma is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
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