Evaluation of Variant Lymphocyte Count in Peripheral Blood Smear of Patients with Mycosis Fungoides and Its Comparison with the Normal Population

Background and Objective: Mycosis fungoides is a neoplastic skin disorder whose underlying cause is not yet fully understood. There are hypotheses about the possible effect of viral agents on the development of mycosis fungoids that have not yet been proven. The present study aimed to evaluate the lymphocyte variant in peripheral blood smear of patients with mycosis fungoides fungoids to determine the possible role of viral agents in the development of mycosis fungoids. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 55 patients with a definite diagnosis of mycosis fungoides based on pathology, clinical and immunological findings (ISCL) were selected by convenience and consecutive sampling method from those referring to referred to Farshchian Hospital (Sina) in Hamadan in 2020 and compared with 55 healthy individuals regarding variant lymphocytes percent of peripheral blood smear. Results: Patients with mycosis fungoides and the control group were matched in terms of age and gender. In the study of peripheral blood smear in patients with mycosis fungoides and the control group, the mean percentage of eosinophils was 5.35±5.11 and 3.00±2.01 (P=0.043), monocytes were 8.27±4.08 and 3.17±1.57 (P<0.001), neutrophils were 53.38±12.97 and 61.64±13.00 (P=0.001), lymphocytes were 31.67±12.57 and 32.95±12.60 (P=0.597), variant lymphocytes was 24.69±15.58 and 3.60±4.66 (P<0.001), and band cells were 1.75±0.96 and 2.25±0.71 (P=0.368) respectively. Conclusion: In patients with mycosis fungoides, the percentage of variant lymphocytes was significantly higher than that in the control group, suggesting the role of infectious agents, especially EBV & CMV, in this disease.