Serum and tissue CTACK/CCL27 chemokine levels in early mycosis fungoides may be correlated with disease-free survival following treatment with interferon alfa and psoralen plus ultraviolet A therapy

Summary Background Neoplastic T‐cell recruitment into the skin is a critical step in the pathogenesis of mycosis fungoides (MF), and the cutaneous T‐cell attracting chemokine, CTACK/CCL27, might be involved. Objectives To investigate the clinical and prognostic significance of CTACK/CCL27 levels in patients with early‐stage MF. Methods Serum samples and skin biopsy specimens were collected from 15 patients at the time of diagnosis and after the end of treatment with psoralen plus ultraviolet A/interferon alfa‐2b combination therapy. Serum samples were also collected from 20 healthy donors as controls. CTACK/CCL27 serum levels were analysed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. CTACK/CCL27 tissue expression was determined by immunohistochemistry on skin biopsy specimens taken at diagnosis and after therapy. Event‐free survival was taken as the primary clinical outcome. Results In patients with MF at diagnosis, CTACK/CCL27 serum levels were not significantly different from healthy controls, whereas CTACK/CCL27 expression in the skin was increased in 87% of cases compared with normal controls. After therapy, all patients obtained a clinical complete remission, serum levels did not change significantly and tissue expression remained abnormal in 80% of patients, even if complete histological remission was recorded. Serum levels were not significantly different in cases with different intensity of cutaneous immunostaining. Eight patients experienced a relapse: the combination of high CTACK/CCL27 levels both in sera and skin increased the probability of experiencing an event at 51 months from 36% to 83%. Conclusions Our data seem to indicate that CTACK/CCL27 levels in skin and sera after therapy might be correlated with risk of recurrence.