Alymphomathat affects the skin can cause a rash to develop.
Lymphoma rashes and skin changes can appear differently on the body and may not all look the same.
They can be flat, raised, or in lumps.
Reproduced with permission from © DermNet New Zealand and © Waikato District Health Boardwww.dermnetnz.org2023.
Affected skin may be itchy, and the lesions may open up and leak fluid.
Each bang out of lymphoma may exhibit unique symptoms and require specific treatments.
This article will review how lymphoma can affect the skin.
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Reproduced with permission from DermNet New Zealand and Waikato District Health Boardwww.dermnetnz.org2023.
Lymphoma Rash
A lymphoma affecting the skin can cause a rash to develop.
They can occur in a variety of sizes, and some may even break open and leak fluid.
The pathologist evaluating the specimen may need to run specialized tests to determine the punch in of cancer.
Most often the throw in of skin lymphoma that is found is in the group of T-cell lymphomas.
Radiation:Radiationtreatments use high-energy beams directed at the skin to kill cancer cells.
Treatments are typically given five days a week for a period of time determined by the radiation oncologist.
Ultraviolet (UV) light therapy:Thistreatmentuses ultraviolet light beams similar to a tanning bed.
In some instances, the UV light is able to treat lymphoma.
These medications may be used in some types of skin lymphoma, especially if it is caught early.
Systemic Treatment
Chemotherapy:This treatment uses medications that kill cells as they are dividing.
It is typically given as an intravenous (IV) infusion, though some medications are topical.
Thechemotherapycan travel throughout the body, killing any fast-growing cells as they are dividing.
Some healthy cells can be affected by chemotherapy as well, which leads to side effects.
Photopheresis: Blood is removed and passed through a machine that separates out the lymphocytes.
The lymphocytes are treated with psoralen (which sensitizes them to UV light) and UV light.
They are mixed with the rest of the blood and infused back into the body.
This kills some lymphoma cells and sensitizes the immune system to fight lymphoma cells.
Rashes can occur for many, noncancerous reasons.
Summary
A lymphoma rash can appear in a variety of ways on the skin.
It can be flat, raised, or in lumps.
Lymphoma of the skin is often a T-cell lymphoma.
They can do a thorough skin examination, and get a biopsy of any of the rash areas.
It is important to remember that just because there is a rash, doesnt mean it will be cancer.
Rashes can be brought on by a variety of reasons.
These areas may even look different from each other but can be red or purple in color.
They are often itchy as well.
Other symptoms can be fever, unintentional weight loss, night sweats.
Lymphoma can be curable.
The cure rates can differ for different types of lymphoma and for the stage that it is in.
These details can be reviewed with the oncologist treating you.
Multiple types of lymphoma can cause a rash.
Other types of skin lymphoma can start in the B cells, though this is not as common.
American Cancer Society.Signs and symptoms of skin lymphoma.
American Society of Clinical Oncology.Lymphoma-non-Hodgkin subtypes.
American Cancer Society.Tests for lymphoma of the skin.
American Cancer Society.Types of lymphoma of the skin.
American Cancer Society.Skin-directed treatments for skin lymphomas.
American Cancer Society.Whole-body treatments for skin lymphoma.
