•  
  •  
 

Subject Area

Endemic and Tropical Medicine

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective To study the immunohistochemical expression of thymocyte selection-associated HMG-box (TOX) as a diagnostic marker in mycosis fungoides (MF). Background MF is the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Differentiation of MF from benign inflammatory dermatoses is important to ensure proper management. TOX is a critical regulator of early T-cell development that is considered as a useful marker for MF diagnosis and prognosis. Patients and methods This study was carried out on 32 skin biopsies, 20 MF cases, and 12 benign inflammatory dermatosis. The diagnosis was established after clinicopathologic correlation immunohistochemical (IHC) was done in MF cases and benign inflammatory dermatosis for TOX. This was a cross-sectional analytical study. Results TOX expression showed significant positive expression in MF cases compared with benign inflammatory dermatoses, with 80% sensitivity and 83% specificity. Also, TOX positivity increased with the progression of the disease in MF cases. There was a significant difference between MF and inflammatory groups as regards TOX expression which was in favor of the malignant group (P = 0.001). Conclusion TOX may have a potential role as a molecular diagnostic marker for MF and overexpression of it correlates with increased risk of disease progression and poor prognosis.

Download

Share

COinS