Emerging drugs in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of rare lympho-proliferative disorders. In most cases, they are characterised by the accumulation of clonal CD4+ lymphocytes in the skin. Extracutaneous involvement is present in late stages only. Unfortunately, only few drugs are registered for these disfiguring diseases. Skin-directed therapies using topical formulations are the preferred first-line modalities for cutaneous lesions in early stages. In this field there are interesting developments using topical retinoids and gene therapy products, such as adeno-IFN-gamma. Systemic treatment uses biologicals, such as fusion molecules, monoclonal antibodies and immune response modifiers (IFNs, retinoids), and well-tolerated antiproliferative drugs, such as histone deacetylase inhibitors or liposomal doxorubicin.