CORRELATION OF CLINICAL-RESPONSES WITH IMMUNOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS IN PATIENTS WITH CUTANEOUS T-CELL LYMPHOMA TREATED WITH INTERFERON ALFA-2A

Background: Immunophenotyping may aid in distinguishing more aggressiv e forms of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), thereby improving classif ication and treatment. Objective: Our purpose was to investigate the r elations between clinical, histologic, and immunophenotypic profiles i n determining variables with respect to outcome. Methods: Thirty-seven cases of histologically proven CTCL were analyzed in relation to clin ical responses to treatment with interferon alfa alone or in combinati on with PUVA. Clinical stage, immunophenotyping, and histologic featur es were noted. Results: All patients with no response to therapy had d eletion of T-cell CD7 antigen. In contrast, only 21% of patients with a complete response had CD7 deletion. Deletion of the CD5 antigen occu rred in 50% of patients with no response and in no patients with compl ete response. Large cell histologic features were found in 16% of pati ents with a complete response, 42% with a partial response, and 83% wi th no response. The presence or absence of other T-cell antigens and t he clinical stage of disease did not correlate with outcome. Conclusio n: Immunophenotypic analysis may be of greatest value in identifying a subset of high-risk CTCL patients, including those previously classif ied as low risk on the basis of clinical stage.