Narrowband UVB phototherapy for early-stage mycosis fungoides.

Background: Narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) phototherapy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of various dermatoses.

Objective: We evaluated the effect of NB-UVB in the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides (MF).

Methods: The response of 24 patients (12 stage IA, 12 stage IB) with patch stage MF to thrice weekly NB-UVB was assessed. Twelve patients had skin phototypes I-III, and 12 had types IV-VI. Seven patients had hypopigmented MF. Mean follow-up period was 29.0 weeks.

Results: Thirteen patients (54.2%) had a complete response (CR), 7 (29.2%) had partial response (PR), and 4 (16.7%) had no response. Specimens from a repeat biopsy in 10 patients with CR showed histologic clearing in 9 of them. Upon discontinuation of treatment, 4 patients with CR relapsed, with a mean time to relapse of 12.5 weeks.

Conclusion: NB-UVB is a viable, comparably safe, and easily administered alternative in the management of early stage MF.