Herein, we found that our CTCL MDS clinic positively impacts patient care, specifically in establishing accurate diagnoses, treatment management, and stabilizing disease progression. Diagnosing CTCL is challenging, and many patients often experience a delay in diagnosis. In a multicenter study evaluating disease course of CTCL, patients with skin lesions related to CTCL experienced an average delay of diagnosis of two years, with some exceeding 50 years before receiving a definitive diagnosis.14 In our study, 78% of patients were previously diagnosed with a benign dermatologic condition, and 13% of patients diagnosed with CTCL received a benign diagnostic change after presenting to CTCL MDS clinic, which further highlights the challenges of distinguishing this disease. Minimizing delays in CTCL diagnosis is essential for patient outcomes, as those with early-stage disease, specifically stage IA, experience similar survival outcomes to age-matched healthy controls,15 while those with late-stage disease have overall poor survival outcomes.16 However, on the contrary, receiving a false-positive cancer diagnosis can lead to unnecessary testing, additional medical costs, and significant emotional burden.17 Because CTCL diagnosis can be challenging, prompt referral to a dermatologist or MDS CTCL clinic may improve diagnostic accuracy and decrease delays in diagnosis and management.
In our study, only 9% patients had complete staging before presenting to CTCL MDS, while 62% were evaluated for stage during their first visit. Dermatologists play a pivotal role in staging, specifically for assessing T stage, which is solely based on skin evaluation.18 Staging is one of the most important aspects for determining treatment strategies, as early-stage disease is largely managed by skin directed therapy. Even in late-stage disease, skin-directed therapy in combination with systemic therapy can improve symptoms and skin tumor burden.19 At initial presentation to the UNMC MDS CTCL clinic, 53% of patients underwent an escalation in therapy, with the majority comprising of skin directed therapy (36%). As time progressed, majority of patients had no subsequent change in treatment regimen as most achieved stable, partial, or complete response to therapy.
Skin directed therapy remains first-line treatment for those with early-stage disease, while systemic therapy may be initiated or added in patients with late-stage, refractory, or if relapse of disease occurs.19 While some guidelines do exist, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials assessing therapeutic strategies in patients with CTCL.20 Many treatment options with similar efficacy exist for skin-directed and systemic treatment.21 Selection of appropriate therapy will differ across providers and will often depend on provider preference, clinical presentation, and availability of treatment.19 Utilizing the expertise of a dermatologist in conjunction with oncology and radiation oncology in MDS setting may better optimize patient treatment strategies and outcomes.
While many dermatologists primarily manage early stage CTCL with skin directed therapy, they play an active role in managing and guiding treatment decisions in late stage or refractory disease. Specifically, a dermatologist’s unique expertise in skin manifestation can help identify early cutaneous disease progression and differentiate adverse skin reactions, which may mitigate early termination of treatment or premature escalation of therapy.22 A MDS care model has been highly emphasized for managing patients with CTCL, largely due to the logistically complex shift from skin directed therapy under the supervision of a dermatologist, to oncology-driven care.23 Centralizing patient care allows specialists to communicate directly and make prompt treatment decisions while ensuring shared understanding of all involved parties.23
Patients with CTCL should be seen regularly once diagnosis is established to monitor for signs of disease progression. The ESMO guidelines recommend that follow-up be individualized depending on clinical scenarios. Those with indolent subtypes of CTCL or stable disease can be seen every 6–12 months, while those with active or progressive disease are often seen every 4–6 weeks.11 Some patients with CTCL may undergo a process of large-cell transformation (LCT), which is characterized by an aggressive disease course and is associated with poor survival.24,25 LCT is often difficult to diagnose, as clinical presentation can vary from a single papule emerging in a pre-existing plaque to multiple standalone nodules and tumors with ulceration.25 In our MDS CTCL clinic, 24% of patients were diagnosed with LCT. Although diagnosis is made histologically, dermatologists play a crucial role in identifying early signs of LCT to facilitate further work up. Furthermore, regular follow-up with a MDS CTCL clinic may mitigate progression of disease with early identification of LCT and initiation of aggressive treatment as needed.
The use and benefit of a disease-specific MDS has been well documented across multiple medical specialties. Specifically, MDS cancer clinics have most notably improved disease-specific survival.6,26–28 While we were unable to assess disease-specific survival due to low sample size, patients from our MDS CTCL clinic had a decreasing trend in average mSWAT (41.8 to 3.5), with many patients achieving at least partial response to treatment without disease progression. Reasons for improved clinical outcomes associated with MDS specialty clinics may be multifactorial. In a previous study, treatment adherence to NCCN guidelines of patients with prostate cancer was improved after implementing a prostate MDS clinic, while multiple studies have shown cancer specific MDS clinics decrease time to treatment initiation and improve treatment adherence.7,9,26,29,30 In addition, patient satisfaction tends to be improved with MDS clinics, as many reported reductions in number of office visits while experiencing an improved understanding of their condition and treatment regimen.31
This is one of the first studies to report on the impact of a MDS CTCL clinic. Like previous disease-specific studies, we found that MDS management positively impacts diagnosis and management of patients with CTCL as well as minimizes disease progression. Limitations of our study include a small sample size and a relatively homogenous cohort, which may limit generalizability of our findings. Nonetheless, MDS care should be accessible to all patients diagnosed with CTCL, and this study further underscores the importance of a MDS CTCL clinic to improve patient-centered care.