[Mycosis fungoides in a heart transplant recipient]

Abstract

Background: Skin cancer occurs frequently in organ transplant patients as a result of induced immunosuppression. Most cases involve carcinomas or B-cell lymphomas induced by the Epstein Barr virus (EBV). Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas remain rare. We report a case of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma of the mycosis fungoides type in a heart transplant recipient.

Patients and methods: A 68-year-old man who had received a heart transplant 21years earlier and was being treated with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisolone had been presenting a psoriasiform rash on his trunk, limbs and head for 4years. The rash was resistant to both PUVA therapy and topical corticosteroids. Histopathological examination suggested epidermotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. There was no impairment of the patient's general state of health nor any adenopathy. Molecular biology revealed TCR rearrangement in both blood and skin. Screening for circulating Sézary cells was negative, and PET scan revealed no signs of extracutaneous localization. Mechlorethamine showed little efficacy, bexarotene was complicated by dysthyroidism, hypertriglyceridemia was ineffective, methotrexate was contraindicated because of calcineurin inhibitor-related chronic kidney failure, and interferon could not be given due to the context of heart transplantation. Finally, we treated our patient with gemcitabine, which initially proved effective but was later complicated by septic shock that resulted in the patient's death.

Conclusion: The particularities of our observation are the onset of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma of the mycosis fungoides type in a heart transplant patient, and the therapeutic difficulties encountered in a setting of transplantation with immunodepression.

Keywords: Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; Heart transplantation; Lymphome cutané T; Mycosis fongoïde; Mycosis fungoides; Transplantation cardiaque.