Association between Primary Cutaneous B-cell Lymphomas and Other Skin Cancers: A Multicentre Cohort Study

Primary cutaneous lymphomas (PCLs) are defined as non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) of the skin without evidence of extracutaneous disease at diagnosis. They are subdivided into primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) and primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (PCBCLs). The latter account for 25% of all PCLs and have been further categorized into 3 main groups according to the last World Health Organization – European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (WHO-EORTC) classification: primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphomas (PCMZLs), primary cutaneous follicle-centre cell lymphomas (PCFCLs), and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, leg-type (PCDLBCL, LT) (1). Recently, increasing attention on the increased risk of other primary malignancies in patients with PCL has been focused on CTCL; however, data regarding second malignancies in PCBCL are lacking (2). Rates of 16% and 25% of patients with PCBCL developing other primary cancers have been reported in the only 2 studies conducted to date, suggesting a potential association (3, 4). It is not known whether a dysfunction of cancer surveillance or immunosuppressive drugs is the basis for this association in these patients. It is notable that immunosuppressive therapy is sometimes unnecessary in PCMZL and PCFCL (4). Further clarification of this association might be of considerable importance for the management of PCBCL, as well as for the improvement of cancer screening. © 2022, Medical Journals/Acta D-V. All rights reserved.