WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Munqith Mashaallah Jaber Agholah*, Ali Shukur Hachim Al Husseiny and Ahmed Merzah Oudah AL Sultani

ABSTRACT

Background:Mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common variant of cutaneous T cell lymphoma, is a raremalignancy characterized by the clonal proliferation of skin resident T cells. It exhibits diverse clinicalpresentations and stages, often mimicking benign dermatological conditions. This study aimed to investigate theclinical and epidemiological characteristics of mycosis fungoides in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A crosssectional study was conducted on 48 patients diagnosed with mycosis fungoides in Babylon, Iraq, from December2023 to November 2024. Compr ehensive dermatological examinations, skin biopsies, and immunohistochemicalanalyses were performed to confirm diagnoses. Data on demographic characteristics, clinical presentations,disease stages, and lesion morphologies were collected and analyzed. Res ults: The mean age of diagnosis was45.3 years, with a peak incidence between 41 55 years. A female predominance was observed (male to femaleratio of 1:1.5). Patch stage lesions were the most common presentation (47.9%), followed by combined pat ch andplaque involvement (39.6%). Advanced tumoral (8.3%) and erythrodermic (4.2%) stages were less frequent.Notably, 66.7% of patients exhibited >10% body surface area involvement, while lymph node and visceralinvolvement were present in 14.6% and 6.3% of cases, respectively. Eczematous lesions were the most frequentmorphological presentation (79.2%), followed by psoriasiform lesions (52.1%) and large plaque parapsoriasis(39.6%). Conclusion: This study highlights unique epidemiological patterns of myc osis fungoides in Iraq,including a younger age at diagnosis and a female predominance compared to global trends. The high proportionof advanced stage disease underscores the need for improved awareness, early diagnosis, and timely interventionto mitigat e disease progression. Further research is warranted to explore genetic, environmental, and healthcaresystem factors contributing to these findings.