Dr. Pinter-Brown on Treating CTCL With Chemotherapy

Lauren Pinter-Brown, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, gives an overview of treatment with chemotherapy for patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

If a patient with CTCL has early-stage disease, Pinter-Brown believes that treatment with chemotherapy or a systemic therapy should not be obligated. At this point, treating a patient with chemotherapy may not be in the patient's best interest, Pinter-Brown believes. These patients should be followed closely, to monitor for change.

A diagnosis of mycosis fungoides, the most common form of CTCL, often leads to treatment with CHOP or other chemotherapies, which will elicit a beneficial response. However, the response is generally very short with high toxicity. Pinter-Brown stresses that mycosis fungoides must be treated as a chronic disease, since patients must live with the disease and side effects of treatment. Due to this, quality of life and comfort should always be a priority.