Problems in differential diagnosis of mycosis fungoides and psoriasis: comparison of clinical and morphological features

Abstract

Mycosis fungoides is an epidermotropic primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, represented com-posed of small and medium-sized lymphocytes with cerebriform nuclei. Differential diagnosis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and chronic autoimmune dermatoses, including psoriasis, may present significant chal-lenges in some cases. We analyzed three clinical cases of mycosis fungoides, in which psoriasis was initially diagnosed. Histological and immunohistochemical studies with a wide panel of antibodies (CD4 CD8, CD2, CD5, CD7, CD3) were performed, and monoclonal T-lymphocyte populations were determined with PCR. We propose an algorithm for diagnosing mycosis fungoides. Keywords: mycosis fungoides, psoriasis, morphology, immunohistochemistrycal study, diagnosis