Urticarial mycosis fungoides: A distinctive presentation with blood involvement and a peculiar immunophenotype

Abstract

Mycosis fungoides (MF) has been widely reported to mimick a considerable number of different dermatoses, including scarring alopecia, bullous dermatoses or cysts, and comedones. In atypical presentations, histopathology is essential for the diagnosis. We present two cases of MF with clinical urticarial lesions and a striking blood involvement that responded to mogamulizumab treatment. Histopathologically, both cases had classic MF features and shared a peculiar immunophenotype, with positivity for CD25 and FOXP3. Differential diagnoses included urticarial lymphomatoid drug reactions and other lymphomas, like T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, atypical Sézary syndrome, or adult T-cell lymphocytic leukemia. A low suspicion threshold is necessary for the diagnosis of atypical presentations of MF.

Keywords: Sézary syndrome; cutaneous lymphoma; mycosis fungoides.