title: FOXP3 in sequential biopsies of progressive mycosis fungoides.
abstract: A recent report has suggested that the numbers of regulatory T cells correlate with stage of disease and prognosis in mycosis fungoides (MF). To evaluate the role of FOXP3+ Tregs in different stages of MF, we investigated sequential biopsies in 14 patients with patch/plaque and subsequent tumor stage using FOXP3 antibody. Our data neither show a significant difference in the percentage of FOXP3+ cells between patch/plaque and tumor stage biopsies of MF nor demonstrate a predictable shift of Tregs in the course of disease progression. Additionally, we could observe FOXP3-expressing neoplastic cells in 4 patch/plaque stage biopsies, where they represented almost 100% of the epidermotropic infiltrate. Only in one of these patients, FOXP3+ cells could also be detected in the tumor stage biopsy, indicating that FOXP3 expression can be acquired or lost during the course of the disease, comparable to other phenotypic markers.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Dermatopathology, Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cerroni
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D018450:Disease Progression; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors