[Clinical analysis of 19 cases of subcutaneous panniculitis T-cell lymphoma with literature review].

Background and objective: Subcutaneous panniculitis T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) is a rare subtype of primary cutaneous lymphoma. This study was to analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of SPTCL.

Methods: Clinical data of 19 SPTCL patients, treated at Cancer Center and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2001 to July 2007, were analyzed.

Results: The median age of the patients was 36 years. Seven patients had skin-excluded extra-nodal involvement; ten had lactate dehydragenase (LDH) elevation before treatment; one had hemophagocytic syndrome. Most of the parents received chemotherapy, including CHOP regimen, modified-alternative triple therapy (m-ATT), and Hyper-CVAD/HD-MA regimen. The median follow-up was 56 months. The median survival was 40 months, and the 2-year expected overall survival rate was 56%. Eight patients who received treatment of intensive chemotherapy had continous remission of 17-70 months; six of them underwent radiotherapy after chemotherapy. Univariate analysis (log-rank test) showed that sex, B symptoms, skin-excluded extra-nodal involvement, and pre-treatment blood cell count and LDH level affected the prognosis.

Conclusions: SPTCL might be cured by high dose chemotherapy combined with whole body irradiation. The regimens which are effective without crossing resistance or more intensive may improve the response rate and overall survival.