Systemic corticosteroids for subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Primary cutaneous γ/δ T-cell lymphoma (PCGD-TCL) is aggressive and has a poor prognosis. In contrast, subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) of the α/β T-cell receptor phenotype is known to follow an indolent course and have a more favourable prognosis. In the past, PCGD-TCL and SPTCL were often considered to be a manifestation of the same disease, and aggressive systemic polychemotherapy has commonly been the first-line therapy for both. Given the understanding that SPTCL is a separate and less aggressive entity, clinical data exclusively evaluating the efficacy of conservative treatment in SPTCL are needed.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the overall clinical response to systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of SPTCL.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study based on a patient data repository from two tertiary care university hospitals in Zürich (Switzerland) and Tübingen (Germany). The repository spanned 13 years.

RESULTS: In four of the five patients (80%) with SPTCL, treatment with systemic corticosteroids induced a complete remission.

CONCLUSIONS: Systemic corticosteroids may be an excellent first-line single-agent therapy for SPTCL.