A Patient’s Guide to Understanding
Cutaneous Lymphoma
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burning, and redness. Additionally, patients tend to handle treatments
better when they maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen and report
any new symptoms or changes to their physicians during treatment.
Treatment choices for cutaneous lymphoma are directed at either the skin
(topical) or the entire body (systemic). It’s important to discuss with your
healthcare team the benefits and disadvantages of both before making a
decision on your treatment course. There have been very few studies done
to compare the effectiveness of one therapy for cutaneous lymphoma with
another, so it is an individual matter of trial and error until your healthcare
team finds the right combination of treatments for you.
Here are some common treatment options:
• Medications you put on the skin including topical corticosteroids,
chemotherapies, and retinoids (made from Vitamin A).
• Light therapy (phototherapy) that exposes affected areas of the skin to
special ultraviolet (UV) rays.
• Radiation therapy that uses high-dose X-rays and can include local
radiation to localized areas of the skin or total skin electron beam
radiation over the entire body. Radiation treatment destroys cancer
by focusing high-energy rays on cancer cells. Radiotherapy can be
used alone or in combination with other treatments. Side effects may
include mild skin changes resembling sunburn or suntan, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, or fatigue. Most side effects ease a few weeks after
treatment finishes.
• Biologic therapies (or immunotherapies) use the body’s own immune
system to fight cutaneous lymphoma.
• Retinoids are Vitamin-A related compounds that are active in treating
cutaneous lymphoma.
• Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) involves taking blood from a vein
and passing it through a machine, where it is treated with a drug that
makes white blood cells (particularly T-lymphocytes) more sensitive to
UV light. The blood is then exposed to UV light and returned to the
body.
• Chemotherapy uses a single anticancer drug or a combination of
drugs. Chemotherapy uses chemicals that interfere with cell division,
