Total skin electron beam therapy may be associated with improvement of peripheral blood disease in Sézary syndrome
Accepted 19 December 2007. published online 13 February 2008.
Total skin electron beam radiation is an effective therapy for palliation of the cutaneous symptoms of the most common types of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome. We report 4 cases of patients with Sézary syndrome who had significant improvement in their blood burden of malignant cells in addition to complete cutaneous responses to total skin electron beam therapy. The data from these 4 patients illustrate the potential for total skin electron beam to be used as both a skin and blood tumor debulking agent, and not merely as a palliation for skin symptoms.
aDepartment of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
bDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Reprint requests: Alain H. Rook, MD, Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2 Maloney Bldg, 3400 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104.