Photodynamic therapy with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid for mycosis fungoides: clinical and histological response

Abstract

There is no curative treatment for mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of single lesions to photodynamic therapy (PDT). The study included 10 plaque MF lesions and 2 tumour MF lesions from 10 patients. First, 20% 5-aminolevulinic acid was applied topically to the lesion and adjacent skin for 5-6 h. The lesion was then exposed to red light at around 630nm. Skin biopsies were taken before treatment, after clinical improvement and after clinical remission. The expression of CD3, CD4, CD7, CD8, CD1a, CD34, CD68, CD71, Ki-67, bcl-2 and p53 was studied immunohistochemically. There was complete clinical clearance in seven of nine plaque lesions. Neither tumour lesion responded to PDT. The biopsies confirmed a regression of the infiltrate after treatment. In the sparse remaining infiltrate a few CD4+ and CD8+ cells were found, most of which showed normal bcl-2. There were also fewer proliferating cells, illustrated by a decrease in Ki-67 and CD71. In conclusion, PDT has good clinical and histological effects in treating local plaque MF lesions.