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Eyelid erythema as the first manifestation of subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma mimicking dermatomyositis: a case-based review

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Abstract

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) which preferentially infiltrates into subcutaneous adipose tissue is rare, however may mimic autoimmune diseases from the aspect of clinical manifestations. Here, we describe a 16-year-old young man, who initially presented with eyelid erythema and swelling, accompanied by fever and muscle and bone marrow involvement. He was preliminarily considered as a patient with classical dermatomyositis (DM), but finally diagnosed as SPTCL concomitant with paraneoplastic inflammatory myositis, confirmed by in total 8 times repeated biopsies at different sites. After systematically reviewing the literatures, we summarized the main features of SPTCL mimicking DM with eyelid edema as the presenting manifestation. The cautionary tale reminds rheumatologists of considering mimickers in patients with atypical autoimmune-like manifestations. Suitable biopsy is critical for diagnosis and improving prognosis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the patient and his guardian for providing permission to share his medical information. Meanwhile, we thank all the colleagues in our department for their contribution to the entire process of diagnosis and treatment.

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Author notes

  1. Xiaoying Sun and Lanlan Ji contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing, 100034, China

    Xiaoying Sun, Lanlan Ji, Guangtao Li, Wenhui Xie & Zhuoli Zhang

  2. Department of Pathology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China

    Lin Nong

  3. Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China

    Wei Zhang

Authors
  1. Xiaoying Sun
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  2. Lanlan Ji
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  3. Guangtao Li
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  4. Lin Nong
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  5. Wei Zhang
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  6. Wenhui Xie
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  7. Zhuoli Zhang
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Contributions

XS and JL were the core physicians responsible for the patient care and drafted the manuscript. GL contributed for the coordination of various departments involved. WX helped the data collection for the article. LN and WZ contributed for the pathological part. ZZ was principally responsible for the patient care and critically revised the manuscript. All the authors have approved the submitted version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhuoli Zhang.

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Sun, X., Ji, L., Li, G. et al. Eyelid erythema as the first manifestation of subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma mimicking dermatomyositis: a case-based review. Clin Rheumatol 41, 929–934 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-021-05992-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-021-05992-1

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