Mycosis Fungoides/Sezary Syndrome

Expert-reviewed information summary about the treatment of mycosis fungoides and the Sézary syndrome.Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome (PDQ®): TreatmentMycosis Fungoides and the Sézary Syndrome Treatment

General Information About Mycosis Fungoides and the Sézary Syndrome

Mycosis fungoides and the Sézary syndrome are diseases in which lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) become malignant (cancerous) and affect the skin.

Lymphocytes are made in the bone marrow and fight infection and disease. There are three types of lymphocytes:


B-cell lymphocytes that make antibodies to help fight infection.
T-cell lymphocytes that help B-lymphocytes make the antibodies that help fight infection.
Natural killer cells that attack cancer cells and viruses.

In mycosis fungoides, T-cell lymphocytes become cancerous and affect the skin. In the Sézary syndrome, cancerous T-cell lymphocytes affect the skin and the peripheral blood.



Mycosis fungoides and the Sézary syndrome are types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

This summary describes the two most common types of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas: mycosis fungoides and the Sézary syndrome. For information about other types of skin cancer or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, refer to the following PDQ summaries:


Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment
Skin Cancer Treatment
Melanoma Treatment
Kaposi’s Sarcoma Treatment