• CDC
  • Heart Failure
  • Cardiovascular Clinical Consult
  • Adult Immunization
  • Hepatic Disease
  • Rare Disorders
  • Pediatric Immunization
  • Implementing The Topcon Ocular Telehealth Platform
  • Weight Management
  • Monkeypox
  • Guidelines
  • Men's Health
  • Psychiatry
  • Allergy
  • Nutrition
  • Women's Health
  • Cardiology
  • Substance Use
  • Pediatrics
  • Kidney Disease
  • Genetics
  • Complimentary & Alternative Medicine
  • Dermatology
  • Endocrinology
  • Oral Medicine
  • Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases
  • Pain
  • Gastrointestinal Disorders
  • Geriatrics
  • Infection
  • Musculoskeletal Disorders
  • Obesity
  • Rheumatology
  • Technology
  • Cancer
  • Nephrology
  • Anemia
  • Neurology
  • Pulmonology

Large T-Cell Lymphoma

Article

An ulcerated lesion that measured approximately 2 cm in diameter had developed on an 80-year-old woman's scalp. The lesion featured a dark eschar that covered a slightly elevated, erythematous border. According to the patient's husband, a different lesion had been at the site 2 weeks earlier. He described the original as a "ball" that ulcerated, had no drainage, and formed a scab.

An ulcerated lesion that measured approximately 2 cm in diameter had developed on an 80-year-old woman's scalp. The lesion featured a dark eschar that covered a slightly elevated, erythematous border. According to the patient's husband, a different lesion had been at the site 2 weeks earlier. He described the original as a "ball" that ulcerated, had no drainage, and formed a scab. Another practitioner prescribed oral and topical antibiotics and performed an incisional biopsy that revealed mycosis fungoides, a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The lesion ulcerated, flattened, formed an eschar, and regressed. The patient's history included a mastectomy and postoperative radiation therapy for breast cancer 6 years earlier. At age 79 years, she had a severe, constant, and progressive sore throat with bilateral exudative tonsillitis and bilateral cervical adenopathy; a tonsillectomy and excisional biopsy of a right jugular lymph node were performed. Pathologic examination of the tissue was confounding; the findings suggested lymphoma and an atypical mycobacterial infection. Clarithromycin was given for several months; the condition improved. Large-cell anaplastic lymphoma is a distinct variant of lymphoma that is usually of T-cell lineage. The 3 clinical variants of this type of tumor are:

  • Painful cutaneous lesions that occasionally ulcerate; they arise in children and adolescents.

  • Cutaneous lesions in elderly persons are violaceous to deep red with a tense, shiny surface; they may ulcerate.

  • Lesions that develop as a complication of mycosis fungoides or other T-cell lymphoma or antecedent lymph node infiltration.

Cutaneous lesions are usually solitary or localized. Relapses and remissions are frequent. Radiation therapy may be useful for persistent lesions.

Related Videos
Infectious disease specialist talks about COVID-19 vaccine development
COVID 19 impact on healthcare provider mental health
Physician mental health expert discusses impact of COVID-19 on health care workers
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.