EPIDERMOTROPISM OF T-CELLULAR LYMPHOMAS O F THE SKIN

Immunophenotyping of involved skin in 89 patients with malignant lymph omas of the skin making use of a wide panel revealed T-cellular subvar iants in 84 patients, a variant with an Ia-like antigen in 3, a B-cell ular variant in 1, and a zero variant in 1 patient. Histologically epi dermotropism was found in 80 patients, 76 of these with T-cellular mal ignant skin lymphomas. In 2 cases of a histologically not confirmed ep idermotropism (small-cellular lymphocytic lymphoma with marked histioc ytic component and lymphoblastic lymphoma) immunologically reacting CD 3, CD5, and CD7 cells were detected in the epidermis. In 2 of 5 cases with non-T-cellular lymphomas epidermotropism was detected: in one cas e with a prolymphocytic lymphoma with expression of only Ia-like antig en on pathologic infiltrate cells and another with a lymphoblastic var iant with zero-type expression. Immunophenotyping in malignant skin ly mphomas helps specify some common symptoms, epidermotropism being one of them, that may occur in non-T-cellular malignant lymphomas of the s kin.