2023 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 56-63
An 86-year-old woman was presented to our institution with solitary ulcerated skin lesion on the left lower leg. She had a history of cervical cancer at the age of 49 that was treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, and had suffered from subsequent lymphedema of the left leg and recurrent cellulitis. Skin biopsy was performed and a histopathological diagnosis of primary cutaneous diffuse B-cell lymphoma, leg-type, was made. Previous studies reported that skin infections, including cellulitis, are more likely to develop in chronically lymphedematous limbs. It has been reported that the lymphedematous region is immunologically vulnerable and predisposed to malignancies and infectious diseases. Angiosarcoma is the most common cutaneous malignancy associated with chronic lymphedema, which is known as Stewart-Treves syndrome. To date, 21 cases of primary cutaneous lymphoma arising in lymphedematous limbs have been reported,including the present case. These cases suggest a potential correlation between chronic lymphedema and the development of malignant lymphoma. Diverse malignancy, including angiosarcoma, may occur in lymphedematous limbs. Skin Research, 22 : 56-63, 2023
