Evaluation of Psychological Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients with Early-Stage Mycosis Fungoides: A Case-Control Study

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This study was designed to measure psychological symptoms and health-related quality of life in patients with early-stage MF and compare the results with controls. Forty patients with early-stage MF and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included in the study. The sociodemographic characteristics of all participants were recorded and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was administered to measure depression, anxiety and stress levels. Additionally, Skindex-29 was applied to assess the quality of life in MF patients. No significant difference was detected between patient and control groups of MF regarding DASS-21 subscales scores and the total scores. Both symptom and emotion subscale scores of Skindex-29 were found to be statistically higher in female MF patients. Older MF patients had worse symptoms and functional impairment according to Skindex-29. The DASS-21 total scores were positively correlated with all Skindex-29 subscale scores in MF patients. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that quality of life in early-stage MF may be negatively affected in elderly and female patients. Health-related quality of life was more affected in patients with increased levels of depression, anxiety and stress. The quality of life of MF patients can be increased by improving their psychological health.