BASALOID FOLLICULOLYMPHOID HYPERPLASIA WITH ALOPECIA AS AN EXPRESSION OF MYCOSIS-FUNGOIDES (CTCL)

Follicular mucinosis, papules, cysts and comedones have been previously described as expressions of follicular involvement by mycosis fungoides. We report a patient with mycosis fungoides who developed extensive alopecia. Multiple scalp biopsies showed perifollicular and intrafollicular infiltrate of lymphocytes but no evident follicular mucinosis. On transverse sections many of the follicles showed an absence of differentiation towards hair sheath, canal, sebaceous gland or hair formation, but instead formed undifferentiated basaloid structures. These basaloid structures showed transition from atrophic telogen follicles to hypertrophic basaloid islands infiltrated by lymphocytes, resembling the pattern previously described in cutaneous lymphadenoma. Immunophenotyping showed a predominance of helper T-cells which, on ultrastructural examination, showed cerebriform nuclei. The unusual histological findings in our case may be analogous to the hyperplasia seen in sweat glands in syringotropic mycosis fungoides (syringolymphoid hyperplasia), and we propose the term basaloid folliculolymphoid hyperplasia to describe this feature. Basaloid follicular hyperplasia has been previously described as a component of follicular mucinosis but may apparently develop in the absence of overt mucinosis.