Joan Guitart MD discusses cutaneous lymphoma in children

Joan Guitart MD, Professor at Northwestern University gave a keynote address in Catania, Sicily, at the Giornate Di Terapia in Dermovenereologia XIV Riunione, on the subject of Cutaneous lymphomas in the pediatric population.

In the glorious setting of the Monastero dei Benedettini, Dr Guitart provided a detailed discussion about these widely variable conditions as they present in children.  Making the correct diagnosis is critical, and providing safe and effective treatment is so important in this vulnerable group.

Skin lymphomas in the pediatric population are rare, yet probably often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed due to the difficulties of performing a skin biopsy in children.  The most common type of lymphomas in this age group is mycosis fungoides and specially the hypopigmented variant. Another common presentation is lymphomatoid papulosis  and pagetoid reticulosis. There is no evidence that  MF in the pediatric population has a poor prognosis. As a matter of fact, there are practically no reports of  lethal tumor evolution during this age group.  The treatment of choice is narrow band UVB in combination with topical corticosteroids. There are other rare lymphomatous  conditions that tend to present in the pediatric population including a hydroa vacciniforme-like T cell  lymphoma and panniculitis-like lymphoma.

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