We feel that a CD4+ CD26- percentage value higher than 30% of peripheral blood lymphocytes could correctly identify the presence of peripheral blood involvement in SS and MF patients.

Our study identifies a possible PCBCL subclassification and the extent of cutaneous involvement as the two most relevant prognostic factors in PCBCL. These data can be considered reasonably as the clinical background for an appropriate management strategy.

Melanoma-associated vitiligo should be considered as a distinct clinical entity, separate from vitiligo vulgaris, and identifies a subgroup of patients characterised by a high prevalence of immune-mediated diseases and by a favourable prognosis.

Two low-/high-risk groups have been singled out on the basis of the risk index. Patients with no or one adverse prognostic feature(s) (risk index < or = 1; n = 31) share a slow disease course and a relatively favorable prognosis (five-year survival: 58%); on the other hand, patients with 2 or 3 adverse prognostic feature (risk index > 1; n = 20) are characterized by an aggressive disease course not modifiable by traditional therapies (five-year survival: 5%).

The multiplex PCR/HD analysis is associated with a high diagnostic accuracy (92.7%) in CTCL patients. The finding of a clonal T-cell rearrangement is more closely associated with the histological pattern (in particular with the density and extent of the cell infiltrate) rather than with the MF cutaneous T-score or immunophenotype.

This large multicenter retrospective study shows that there exist a large treatment heterogeneity in advanced MF/SS and differences between USA and non-USA centers but these were not related to survival, while our data reveal that chemotherapy as first treatment is associated with a higher risk of death and/or change of therapy and thus other therapeutic options should be preferable as first treatment approach.

No abstract

Background Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is defined as spontaneous occurrence of wheals and/or angioedema for ≥6 weeks. Omalizumab is a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody effective in refractory CSU, but its mechanism of action and markers predictive of response remain not completely defined.Objectives To correlate baseline levels of two proposed biomarkers, total IgE (bIgE) and D-dimer (bD-dimer), and clinical parameters to omalizumab response and to relapses after drug withdrawal.Methods In this retrospective Italian multicentre study, clinical data were collected in 470 CSU patients, and bIgE and bDdimer were measured in 340 and 342 patients, respectively. Disease activity was determined by Urticaria Activity Score 7 (UAS7) at week 1 and 12 after omalizumab starting. Relapses were evaluated during a 2-and 3-month interval after a first and a second course of treatment, respectively.Results bIgE correlated to a good response to omalizumab since levels were significantly higher in responders than nonresponders (P = 0.0002). Conversely, bD-dimer did not correlate to response. There was no correlation between both bIgE and D-dimer and either first or second relapse. Disease duration was significantly longer in patients who experienced either first or second relapse (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0105, respectively), while baseline UAS7 correlated only to first relapse (P = 0.0023).Conclusions Our study confirms bIgE as a reliable biomarker predicting response to omalizumab in CSU, while it does not support the usefulness of bD-dimer unlike previous findings. CSU duration before omalizumab and baseline UAS7 may be clinical markers of relapse risk. JEADV 2019, 33, 918-924 Predictors of response to omalizumab and relapse in CSU Positivity for antithyroglobulin or antithyroperoxidase autoantibodies §, n (%) 106 (26.7) 15 (36.6) 0.1995 †IgE values missing for 130 patients. ‡D-dimer values missing for 128 patients. §Data missing for 32 patients. IQR: interquartile range; SD: standard deviation.