T-cell lymphoma is found primarily in the elderly, although it is sometimes found in childhood and adolescence. Pathology prefers male patients, meeting at women much less often. Most often, T-cell lymphoma affects the lymphatic system and skin cellular structures.
What is it?
T-cell lymphomas are usually characterized by epidermotropic origin.
Classification of
There is a definite classification of such lymphomas:
- Lymphoma of the skin.
Skin lymphomas usually develop due to mutational changes in B- or T-lymphocyte cells, which further provokes their uncontrolled reproduction and spread into the epidermal layer.
T-cell lymphoma of the skin is characterized by polymorphic symptoms in the form of skin eruptions like spots or tumors, plaques or blisters.
First, itchy or flaky spots that resemble eczema are formed, then plaques appear, which eventually reclassify to tumor centers.
- Peripheral lymphatic tumors.
Peripheral lymphomas usually have NK or T-cell origin, except for lymphomas from immature T-lymphocyte cells, as well as T-lymphoblastic leukemia.
In general, peripheral T-cell lymphoma is considered an exception diagnosis and often includes such formations that do not fall into other categories. In terms of clinical characteristics of the peripheral T-cell tumor, aggressive development is typical of the type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Often, peripheral lymphocytes, consisting of T-lymphocyte cells, affect internal organs, bone marrow, skin, peripheral blood. Affected lymph node tissues have diffuse infiltration, completely erasing the normal nodal structure.
- Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
Angioimmunoblastic lymphoma from T-shaped cellular structures is a lymph node seal consisting of immunoblasts and plasma cells. Later, the structure of such a seal changes, and new pathological blood vessels are formed.
For this lymphoma is characterized by poor prognosis. On average, five-year survival is observed in only a third of patients, and the average life expectancy is about 2.5-3 years.
- T-lymphoblastic lymphoforming.
T-lymphoblastic tumors consist of immature lymphocytic cell structures. They have an irregular nucleus, and their cells quickly divide and multiply. It is difficult to distinguish a tumor from leukemia of an acute lymphoid form, although it is quite rare.
If such a form does not affect bone marrow structures, the predictions are favorable, in the presence of such lesions the chances of a successful recovery do not exceed 20%.
Causes of
Specialists find it difficult to identify the specific causes of T-cell lymphomas, although they identify several predisposing factors:
- T-cell leukemia virus of the first type;
- Virus HHV-6;
- Epstein-Barr virus;
- Immunopathological processes in the epidermal cells;
- Hereditary factor;
- Elderly, because such patients are more often affected by T-cell lymphatic tumors;
- Immune mutations, surgical correction of immunological activity, transplantation with forced suppression of immunity, autoimmune pathologies;
- Long-term radiation, chemical or ultraviolet effect on the body;
- Immunodeficiency states of hereditary origin.
The above factors prove that T-cell lymphomas are multifactorial in nature, arising from pathological lymphocytic activity.
Symptoms of
One of the most common manifestations of T-cell tumors is fungoid-type mycosis, which accounts for about 7 out of a dozen cases.
The onset of such an oncologic process is indicated by an increase in lymph nodes in the inguinal, axillary, or cervical area.
With the appointment of antibiotic therapy, lymph node tumors do not pass, and when palpation they do not cause painful sensations or discomfort.
If we talk about skin types of T-cell lymphomas, they are sometimes accompanied by hyperemic lesions of the skin, all sorts of rashes like plaques, erythema, nodules or sores. On the skin may appear areas of peeling, swelling, hyperpigmentation, infiltration, etc.
The development of T-cell lymphonodiology is also expressed by such symptoms:
- Hyperperity at night;
- Unreasonable apathy and weakness, propensity to stressful conditions;
- Hyperthermal symptomatology, often persisting in subfebrile limits, although sometimes capable of achieving febrile indices;
- Digestive problems and intensive weight loss for no apparent reason.
Stages of
Specialists identify four consecutive stages in the development of T-cell lymphomas.
- At the first stage, only one lymph node structure is involved in the oncological process.
- In the second stage, these processes spread to two lymph nodes, which are located on one side of the diaphragm.
- At the third stage of development, oncology covers the lymph nodes on both sides of the diaphragm.
- And in the fourth stage, the oncoprocesses spread not only to the lymphatic system, but also to the intra-organic localization. Metastasis can spread to the gastrointestinal system, renal and hepatic tissues, bone marrow structures, etc.
Treatment
Therapeutic procedures are selected in accordance with the patient's health condition, variety and stage of the lymphocytic process.
Lymphoplasmal processes, like other oncogenes, are caused by cell division and proliferation, therefore the therapeutic methods used are based on the destruction of actively dividing cell structures.
The main technique is usually the chemotherapeutic effect, and in rare clinical cases resort to the removal of the tumor. Often, as an additional technique, radiotherapy is used.
To permanently and finally rid the patient of cancer, it is necessary to destroy all cancerous structures in his body. If after the therapy a small number of tumor cells are retained, they will subsequently lead to the formation of lymphogenesis. Due to such features, therapeutic processes take a lot of time, differing in particular duration.
Chemotherapy involves the use of several drugs, destructively affecting the oncocellular structures in several directions at once. This approach minimizes the likelihood of the development of specific resistance in cancer cells to drug exposure.
Drugs for chemotherapeutic treatment can be taken orally in the form of syrup or tablets or administered intravenously. In a number of clinical cases, the introduction of drugs into the spinal canal is indicated.
Radiation treatment involves exposure to a tumor with a beam of highly energy-intensive beams, but in children this method is usually not used. In general, the treatment of T-cell lymphoformations lasts about 2 years.
First the patient is in the hospital for a long time, undergoing chemotherapy courses of treatment, then the need for inpatient therapy disappears, and the patient is transferred to an outpatient cure.
Prognosis of T-cell lymphoma
Prognostic data are determined by the form of the T-cell lymphatic tumor process and the stage of its development.
The greatest danger to T-cell lymphogenesis is in elderly people, although in general, timely treatment of such a pathology has favorable predictions.
A similar type of cancers responds positively to the treatment started in the early stages of the disease.
In the absence of relapses after a course of therapy with the diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma, many patients live safely for dozens of years.
If the therapeutic measures begin to be carried out after the formation of tumors( at the 3-4th stage of the pathological process), then the predictions for the patients are less favorable. In such clinical cases the patient's life can be prolonged only for a couple of years.
Video on the causes, types, symptoms and methods of diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma of the skin: