Mycosis fungoides stage IB progressing to cutaneous tumors.

A 44-year-old African American woman presented with well-demarcated, pruritic and intermittently painful plaques and subsequently a diagnosis of mycosis fungoides stage IB was made. Six months after diagnosis, cutaneous tumors developed despite treatment with narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy. The patient failed low-dose methotrexate treatment and is now slowly improving on combination therapy with subcutaneous interferon alfa and oral bexarotene. This patient demonstrates the progression of patch/plaque stage disease to cutaneous tumors. Her case highlights the use of interferon and combination therapies in more advanced mycosis fungoides and demonstrates potential difficulties encountered in treating skin of color.