Premium
FULMINANT HEAD AND NECK CONGESTION IN ADVANCED CUTANEOUS T CELL LYMPHOMA: A POOR PROGNOSTIC INDICATOR
Author(s) -
MCFALLS SUSAN G.,
COHEN JONATHAN,
BERMAN BRIAN,
KERDEL FRANCISCO A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4362.1995.tb01087.x
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck , fulminant , lymphoma , dermatology , oncology , surgery
Background. Clinical factors associated with a poor prognosis in patients with cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) include the extent and type of skin involvement and the presence and extent of lymphadenopathy. Materials. We report retrospectively the clinical course and survival time of four patients with advanced CTCL after the development of fulminant head and neck congestion. Methods. All four patients presented with marked erythema and edema of the head and neck with marked cervical adenopathy. Treatment with multidrug chemotherapy and radiation induced only brief remissions. The clinical picture was felt to be due to extensive tumor infiltration of the skin as well as lymphatic compression due to cervical adenopathy rather than venous compression at the level of the mediastinum. Survival from onset of this fulminant head and neck congestion was 1–5 months. Conclusion. Development of this fulminant head and neck congestion in patients with advanced CTCL heralds a progressively deteriorating clinical course with a poor prognosis.