TITLE:
Two Cases of Tuberculosis Manifesting as Cutaneous Solitary Mass in Patients with Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma
AUTHORS:
Monji Koga, Masaki Fujita, Shinichi Imafuku
KEYWORDS:
Tuberculosis, Tuberculous Lymphadenitis, Immunosuppression, Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma, Regulatory T-Cell
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.4 No.3,
September
7,
2016
ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem worldwide and a large number of fatal cases are still reported. Immunocompetent individuals are naturally susceptible to TB, and immunocompromised patients have a greater risk of infection. Although patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) are in an immunosuppressed condition, there is only one reported case of TB accompanied with ATL in the English- language literature in the field of dermatology. Here, we report two patients with chronic-type ATL infected with TB manifesting as cutaneous solitary masses. Case 1 was a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with lumbar abscess with pulmonary TB. Case 2 was an 84-year-old woman diagnosed with tuberculous lymphadenitis in the left cervical region. It is important to raise the differential diagnosis of TB and perform tissue culture for acid-fast bacilli as well as Interferon-Gamma release assay test when dermatologists encounter mass lesions in patients with ATL.