Specific cutaneous manifestations in adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma

Background and aim: Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is an aggresive malignancy which may occur in human T lymphotropic virus1(HTLV1) infected persons. HTLV1 is endemic in Khorasan with prevalence of 2.3% in general population. Since specific cutaneous manifestations of lymphoma may occur in a significant number of patients, we studied ATLL patients in Mashhad.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study the demographic and clinical data of 23 patients suffering from ATLL who were admitted in hematology and dermatology departments of Ghaem Hospital, during 1995-2004 and had specific cutaneous lesions confirmed histopathologically with atypical lymphocytes in skin lesions, were recorded and analyzed.Results: Eleven patients were male and 12 were female. The mean age of patients was 48.17±14.1 years. Birth places of over 85% of cases were north of Khorasan. The most common types of specific skin lesions were maculopapular rash in 11 cases (47.8%) and papular lesions in 4 cases (17.4%). Other lesions included plaque, icthyosis like, erythroderma, tumor, and nodular lesions. In most of patients (56.5%) the skin lesions were generalized.Conclusion: The most common type of specific skin lesions in ATLL was maculopapular rash especially with generalized distribution. Other types of specific skin lesions in order of frequency were papule, plaque, icthyosis like, nodule, tumor and erythroderma.