Folliculotropic Mycosis Fungoides in a Latin American Hospital: Survival Analysis

Introduction: Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides is a variant that has poor prognosis and a variable clinical presentation. Concerns have been expressed that the current TNMB staging of this tumor may not be useful. A recently developed classification system based on clinical and histologic variables classifies this tumor as early or advanced, a distinction found to correlate with prognosis. The aim of this study was to compare survival in FMF in Colombia between patients with early versus advanced tumors.

Material and methods: Retrospective, observational study of clinical course and outcomes in patients with FMF treated at the National Cancer Institute of Colombia between 2008 and 2020. Survival was compared between early and advanced disease.

Results: Twenty-one patients (11 with early FMF and 10 with advanced FMF) were studied. Seven patients, all with advanced disease, died. Survival at 5 years was 62% overall and 40% for patients with advanced FMF. No differences were observed when survival was analyzed according to TNMB stage.

Conclusions: TNMB staging is not useful in FMF. The new classification system based on clinicopathologic features appears to provide reliable information for assessing prognosis and guiding treatment decisions.