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Understanding TreatmentOptions in
Cutaneous Lymphoma
Understanding Types of Treatment
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While this booklet presents common themes in treatment approaches, a
particular patient’s treatment planmay vary based on the specifics of their
lymphoma, previous treatments and experiences, the patient’s health and
particular situation, and overall needs.There have been very few studies done to
compare the effectiveness of one therapy for cutaneous lymphomawith another,
so it is often amatter of trial and error until your healthcare teamfinds the right
treatment or combination of treatments that work for you. It is necessary to
discuss the benefits anddisadvantages of treatment optionswith your healthcare
team beforemaking a decision on your individual treatment course. For less
common forms of cutaneous lymphomas, physiciansmay select a treatment
that has been used successfully in other,more common types of cutaneous
lymphoma.
It is important to understand that some cutaneous lymphomaswill respond to a
treatment temporarily, but the patientmay notmaintain a permanent remission.
Constantmonitoring andmaintenancemay be required, butmaintenance
therapymay also be sufficient to prevent progression. For patientswhose
lymphoma has recurred, the treatment usedpreviouslymay still be effective at
controlling the disease. For others, the previous treatmentmay not be effective
and a new treatment approach is needed.
Local/Skin-Directed Therapies
Generally, early, localizeddisease is treatedwith skin-directed therapies that
are administereddirectly to the affected area.Localized therapy or skin-
directed treatment includes topical therapies like topical steroids, phototherapy,
radiation, intralesional therapy, and surgical removal (excision) of lesions.These
kinds of treatments are applied to limited areas of the skinwith little or no
effect on other regions of the body.This approach can limit the side effects of
treatments.
Systemic Therapies
Systemic therapies, given orally, intravenously, or subcutaneously (injected under
the skin), are distributed across the entire body, reaching and affecting cells all
over the body to kill cancer cellswherever they are located, including the skin,
blood, and organs.These are typically administered formore advanceddisease.
There are several different types of systemic therapies.
TargetedTherapies
Targeted therapies are agents that act directly and specifically against particular
molecules needed for cancer growth.Targeted therapies usually affect fewer
normal cells and thereforemay result in fewer side effects.However, not all
cutaneous lymphomas develop in the sameway andpatients’ diseasemay
develop along different pathways. If a particular patient’s disease does not have
the specific target exploited by the drug (for example, a specificmarker on the
surface of the cancer cell) due to the pathway alongwhich it developed, then the
drugwill not be effective.Targeted therapies represent a new area of interest in
cutaneous lymphoma treatments and are leading to increasingly individualized
treatmentswhere eachpatient can receive therapy that is specific for their
individual disease.
BiologicTherapies
Biologic therapy is a kind of systemic targeted therapy that workswith the
body’s normal cell functions tofight cancer.These drugs repair, stimulate, or
enhance the action of the patient’s healthy immune cells. Specific biologic
agents target specific characteristics of cancer cells.
Therapies used forCTCL andCBCL are described inmore detail in the
sections for eachdisease. Further information is also available at theCutaneous
LymphomaFoundation’swebsite at
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