Author(s)

Monji Koga^1*, Masaki Fujita², Shinichi Imafuku¹

¹Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
²Department of Respiratory Medicine, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem worldwide and a large number of fatal cases are still reported. Immunocompetent individuals are naturally susceptible to TB, and immunocompromised patients have a greater risk of infection. Although patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) are in an immunosuppressed condition, there is only one reported case of TB accompanied with ATL in the English- language literature in the field of dermatology. Here, we report two patients with chronic-type ATL infected with TB manifesting as cutaneous solitary masses. Case 1 was a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with lumbar abscess with pulmonary TB. Case 2 was an 84-year-old woman diagnosed with tuberculous lymphadenitis in the left cervical region. It is important to raise the differential diagnosis of TB and perform tissue culture for acid-fast bacilli as well as Interferon-Gamma release assay test when dermatologists encounter mass lesions in patients with ATL.

Tuberculosis, Tuberculous Lymphadenitis, Immunosuppression, Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma, Regulatory T-Cell

Koga, M. , Fujita, M. and Imafuku, S. (2016) Two Cases of Tuberculosis Manifesting as Cutaneous Solitary Mass in Patients with Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma. Journal of Tuberculosis Research, 4, 134-139. doi: 10.4236/jtr.2016.43016.