Diagnostic significance of TCR gene clonal rearrangement analysis in early mycosis fungoides

Mycosis fungoides(MF),the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma,has various unspecific clinical and histological characteristics.Its early diagnosis is challenging.The application of T-cell receptor(TCR) gene clonal rearrangement to the diagnosis of MF has been widely studied.In this study,we used polymerase chain reaction(PCR) to investigate the diagnostic significance of detecting TCR-γ and-β gene clonal rearrangement in the early diagnosis of mycosis fungoides.PCR for TCR-γ and TCR-β gene rearrangement was performed on 19 patients with suspected early MF,6 with typical MF,and 6 with chronic dermatitis.Of the 19 patients with suspected early MF,13 had TCR-γ gene clonal rearrangement,whereas none had TCR-β gene clonal rearrangement.All patients with typical MF had TCR gene clonal rearrangement,in which 4 showed TCR-γ clonal rearrangement,1 showed TCR-β gene clonal rearrangements,and 1 showed both.No patients with chronic dermatitis had TCR gene clonal rearrangement.These results indicate that TCR gene clonal rearrangement analysis is a useful tool in diagnosing early MF.TCR-γ gene is recommended to the routine analysis,whereas TCR-β gene has potential in combination toward intractable cases.