Erythroderma: psoriasis or lymphoma? A diagnostic challenge and therapeutic pitfall.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nPsoriasis and lymphoma risk is widely debated, but few is known about misdiagnosis risk between erythrodermic psoriasis and lymphoma . In fact erythroderma might represent a clinical presentation of psoriasis, cutaneous T cell lymphomas and skin dissemination of systemic lymphomas.\n\n\nMETHODS\nAll patients referred to psoriasis outpatient service with a diagnosis of erythrodermic psoriasis were re-examined. Among them, all the patients with a subsequent lymphoma diagnosis were included. For each patient data concerning age, gender, age at erythroderma onset, age at lymphoma diagnosis, immune-suppressive therapy, type of lymphoma and relative stage, lymphoma treatment and outcome were obtained.\n\n\nRESULTS\nTwenty-five patients (15 females and 10 males) with a diagnosis of erythrodermic psoriasis were retrieved. Among them, 9 patients (5 males and 4 females) were affected by erythrodermic lymphoma, including 4 patients with Sèzary syndrome, 3 with mycosis fungoides, and 2 with peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified. Prior to lymphoma diagnosis all the patients (9/9) received cyclosporine, two (2/9) of them methotrexate, one (1/9) azatioprine, and two (2/9) systemic corticosteroids. The prognosis of our patients was poor, due to immune-suppressive drugs administration in patients with undiagnosed lymphoma. The only exception was one (1/9) patient with Sèzary syndrome still alive with disease after 120 months of follow up.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nIn case of patients with erythroderma, multiple skin biopsies and specific peripheral blood studies like flow cytometry and T-cell receptor gene rearrangement analysis are required in order to avoid misdiagnosis risk between psoriasis and lymphoma.