Follicular Mycosis Fungoides: Variability of a Rare Entity
January 2005
in “
SKINmed Dermatology for the Clinician
”
TLDR FMF and mycosis fungoides are variants of the same disease, and bexarotene can be an effective treatment.
The document discussed three patients with follicular mycosis fungoides (FMF), a rare variant of folliculotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. FMF is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of hair follicles without epidermal invasion or follicular mucin. Case 1 had stable FMF with alopecia resistant to topical treatments, while Cases 2 and 3 showed simultaneous occurrences of classic mycosis fungoides and FMF, suggesting they are variants of the same disease. Case 3 progressed rapidly to tumor-stage mycosis fungoides but responded well to bexarotene, highlighting its potential as a treatment for FMF, which may have a worse prognosis than classic mycosis fungoides.
