Lymphoma of the skin is now traceable

Researchers at Rigshospitalet, the University of Copenhagen, Gentofte Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital have discovered three molecules, which render it possible to distinguish lymphoma of the skin from more harmless skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema.

If a patient sees a physician because of a skin rash, it is practically impossible today for the physician to detect whether this rash was caused by lymphoma. Often it takes several years for the diagnosis to be given, but now researchers have developed a method which can determine with 95 percent probability whether the rash was caused by lymphoma or whether it is merely a benign skin disease.

Today patients are typically prescribed a cream for the rash and for some people the rash never develops, but for others the rash develops into malignant cancer, spreading to other places in the body. In these cases, the new method will help prevent wrong treatment and lead to faster diagnosis.

The physicians behind the breakthrough predict that this new knowledge will lead to tailor-made new treatments for various skin diseases, among other things, lymphoma of the skin.