Review of contemporaneous mycosis fungoides and B-cell malignancy at Mayo Clinic

BackgroundHaving either mycosis fungoides or B-cell lymphoma may predispose a patient to the other.ObjectiveWe sought to determine whether the contemporaneous occurrence of the two malignancies is greater than chance and to investigate possible risk factors for the second malignancy.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with contemporaneous mycosis fungoides and B-cell lymphoma seen between 1990 and 2007 at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, or at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ.ResultsIn all, 23 patients had contemporaneous mycosis fungoides and B-cell malignancy. The first diagnosis was mycosis fungoides in 10 patients and B-cell lymphoma in 7; in 6 patients, the diseases were diagnosed simultaneously. No therapeutic factors could account for a predisposition to a second malignancy.LimitationsRetrospective design, referral center, and small sample size are limitations.ConclusionMycosis fungoides and B-cell lymphoma are unlikely to occur contemporaneously by chance, but no factor obviously predisposes a patient with one malignancy to development of the second