Reappraisal of the Provisional Entity Primary Cutaneous CD4+ Small/medium Pleomorphic T-cell Lymphoma: a Series of 10 Adult and Pediatric Patients and Review of the Literature

Background: Primary cutaneous CD4(+) small/medium-sized pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma (PCSM-TCL) was defined as a provisional entity in the 2005 World Health Organization-European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer classification of cutaneous lymphomas. A limited number of reports describe a generally indolent but heterogeneous condition.

Objective: We reviewed the concept of PCSM-TCL when applied to our experience and to the published literature.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review and a PubMed search to identify all reported cases of PCSM-TCL from 2005 to 2010.

Results: Ten patients, including 4 of the youngest described, were identified in our institution, and their clinical and pathologic features were analyzed. All had a benign clinical course. Ten reports of patients with PCSM-TCL were reviewed and commonalities were found within an otherwise variable spectrum of clinical presentation, pathology, and biologic behavior.

Limitations: This study was retrospective, follow-up was short term in some cases, and data were limited in a number of published reports.

Conclusions: Our experience of 10 cases that met the diagnostic criteria of the provisional entity PCSM-TCL highlights its occurrence in children and further supports characterization of this condition as a clonal T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder with indolent behavior.