Phototherapy as a first line treatment for early stage mycosis fungoides: The results of a large retrospective analysis

Abstract

Background

Phototherapy is one of the main treatments for mycosis fungoides (MF). In this study, we analyzed the efficacy and safety of phototherapy as a first line treatment in patients with early stage disease.

Methods

We analyzed treatment outcomes in a group of 227 early stage patients. The chi-squared test, the parametric t-test and ANOVA test and the non-parametric tests of Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis were applied for data analysis.

Results

55.9% of patients treated with UVB-NB reached complete remission (CR), while analogue rates after PUVA treatment were 74.5% (p=0.015). Patients with patch-stage disease showed better response rates to PUVA compared to UVB-NB therapy (CRs 56.7% vs 91.3%, p<0.001). Regarding the latter, long lasting disease was proven as an independent negative prognostic factor for treatment outcome. Phototypes I and II were found to be favorable prognostic factors for patients treated with PUVA. Maintenance treatment did not alter final relapse rates but led to prolonged time to relapse compared to no-maintenance treated cases (19.5 months, vs 32.3, p<0.002).

Conclusion

Our analysis indicates that PUVA leads to better responses and longer relapse-free intervals both in patch and plaque stage disease. UVB-NB could be a valid therapeutic alternative for patients with recent disease presentation.

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