Clinical and immunohistological characterization of cutaneous lesions in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Twenty-five patients with immunologically classified B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) were examined for skin lesions. Six showed evidence of cutaneous involvement, and histological examination of skin biopsies from these patients revealed perivascular lymphocytic infiltration with some diffuse involvement in three. Immunohistological analysis with a range of B and T cell specific monoclonal antibodies revealed that in all cases the infiltrate was predominantly T cell in origin and that epidermotropism in three cases was also associated with T cell components. Six control patients with macroscopically normal skin were also biopsied and these biopsies subjected to the same assessment. All were normal.