Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides: Clinical characteristics, treatments, and long-term outcomes of 53 patients in a tertiary hospital

Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (FMF) is characterized by a broad clinical spectrum and worse prognosis compared to classical MF. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities and long-term outcome and risk factors for progression and survival of FMF patients. We conducted a single-center retrospective study and reviewed 53 patients diagnosed with FMF between 1990 to 2019 in a referral center at Ankara University, Turkey. Regarding to stage at diagnosis, 24 patients (45.3%) had advanced-stage disease (≥IIB). Follicular papules was observed in 66% and alopecia in 49.1% of the cases. Forty-three patients (81.1%) suffered from pruritus. The majority of the patients (92.4%) had at least one systemic therapy. Complete remission was achieved in 24.5% of the patients. The median time of overall survival (OS) was 50 months (range 9-324 months) and 5-year and 10-year OS was 83% and 69%, respectively. Twenty-eight (52.3%) patients progressed to more advanced stages and seven (13.2%) patients died due to MF during the follow-up period. FMF is associated with a progressive course and in most patients, skin-directed therapies were found to be inefficient to control the disease and multiple systemic therapeutic agents were required to control the disease.