Symptoms of CLL-related skin issues
Symptoms of CLL-related skin lesions can differ from person to person, but may include the following:- widespread redness and inflammation of your skin (exfoliative erythroderma)
- general itchiness of your skin, with or without lesions or plaques
- large, painful nodules (nodular erythema)
- large, itchy, fluid-filled blisters (bullous pemphigoid)
- large, painful blisters that can appear on your lips, mouth, and skin (paraneoplastic pemphigus)
- an increased risk of skin infections, such as after being bit by a bug
Causes of CLL skin lesions
CLL is a slow-developing form of leukemia. You may not experience symptoms such as skin lesions until the cancer has progressed. If you have CLL, blood stem cells that normally become healthy red or white blood cells turn into atypical lymphocytes instead. Also called leukemia cells, these lymphocytes may crowd your blood and bone marrow, spreading into your skin and decreasing healthy red and white blood cells as well as platelets. There are three types of lymphocytes:- B lymphocytes (B cells), which usually create antibodies that help fight infections
- T lymphocytes, which help create antibodies for B cells
- “natural killer cells,” which fight viruses and cancerous cells
Types of CLL skin lesions
The types of skin lesions that may be associated with CLL include:- bullous pemphigoid
- exfoliative erythroderma
- nodular erythema
- paraneoplastic pemphigus
CLL and skin cancer
With CLL, you may be- a mole that is changing in size and color and that looks different from other moles you may have
- a scaly patch that does not go away
- any dome-shaped growths
- itching, bleeding, or nonhealing sores that do not go away or that return
- streaks under your nails that are brown or black
What are the treatment options?
Treatment for CLL-related skin lesions- chemotherapy, which kills cancer cells
- leukapheresis, which involves removing white blood cells via a specialized machine
- radiation therapy, which destroys cancer cells with high energy rays
- stem cell transplants, with or without chemotherapy
- targeted therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies
Potential complications
It’s important to see a doctor to address unusual skin lesions. Not only is there an increased risk of infections, but these lesions could also be- extreme fatigue and weakness
- swollen but painless lymph nodes
- frequent infections
- night sweats
- fullness or pain below your ribs
- unintentional weight loss
- Richter’s syndrome