Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma Appears Treatable Using Antibiotics

Release Date: 19-Sep-2019

A staphylococcal infection in the skin is commonly developed along with a rare lymphoma, known as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). It is a type of cancer, which affects the T-cells in the skin. CTCL can also involve the blood, lymph nodes, and other internal organs. Researchers with the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, the University of Copenhagen, showed that a violent antibiotic treatment is able to inhibit the staphylococcal infection, but also kills the cancer cells.

According to the niels Odum, a seniorauthor of the study, the inhibition of the staphylococcal bacteria with antibiotics simultaneously remove the activation of the immune cells. This means that the production of cytokines is inhibited, and therefore the cancer cells cannot get the extra fuel.

As a result, the growth of cancer cells are inhibited and they grow at a slower rate as compared to the situation of bacterial attack. This research is revolutionary as it is the first time ever that the connection between bacteria and cancer cells is observed in patients.

The research was published in the Journal blood. The University of Copenhagen team worked with the researchers with Aarhus and Zealand University Hospitals and Aaehus University.

Most of the CTCL patients only have skin symptoms. Some of the patients have a condition in which the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes and internal organs. CTCL is able to act in several different diseases with a broad range of symptoms and outcomes. The most common type of CTCL, accounting for about half, is Mycosis Fungoides (MF), which appears different in each patient. Another type is Sezary Syndrome, marked by lymphoma cells in the blood. These patients have extensive thin, red, itchy rashes on the skin

The research is continuously performing in the field of antibiotic activity in TCLC and initially examining the link between cancer and bacteria. They hope it presents the possibility of new treatments that target the bacteria linked to the diseases without destroying the bacteria that protect the skin.