Leadership and Excellence
in Patient Care and Research
Mission
To provide excellence in patient care and leadership in scientific investigation of the cutaneous lymphomas that will lead to greater knowledge and the development of new therapies to improve the survival and the quality of life of our patients.
What's New
- NCCN Practice Guidelines in Mycosis Fungoides and Sezary Syndrome are now available.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is an alliance of 21 of the world’s leading cancer centers (see list below) dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. NCCN institutions work together to provide physicians and patients with up-to-date management guidelines that would lead to better care and improved quality of life for cancer patients. The development of the NCCN practice guidelines are based on available scientific evidence integrated with the experience and judgment of the clinical experts in the alliance. These cancer guidelines are utilized by clinicians worldwide and serve as an important standard-of-care resource. The NCCN institutions experts have pioneered and lead the concept of multidisciplinary team approach to patient care and believe that the best cancer management is the result of integration of programs in clinical care, research, and education.
For the first time in NCCN history, a practice guideline in mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome (MF-SS) has been developed and is available on the NCCN website. Again, the MF/SS guideline embodies the practice patterns in the 21 expert institutions in the NCCN alliance and integrates available scientific evidence in the management of patients with MF/SS. The current guideline has been updated this year and includes the revised staging system and updated recommendation for diagnosis and staging evaluations. The treatment recommendations are stratified by clinical stage and other key prognostic factors. In a given clinical stage, available treatments are presented in an algorithmic fashion as primary treatment options and choices for refractory or progressive disease. This MF/SS practice guideline will serve as an important standard-of-care resource not only for clinicians and patients, but also for medicare and other health insurance providers. Medicare and insurance carriers refer to the NCCN practice guidelines for approval and reimbursement of cancer treatments. Thus, the clinicians who follow the NCCN guidelines will increase the chance of receiving authorization and reimbursement for treatments in the care of our patients with MF/SS. The MF/SS guidelines will be updated as new treatments and scientific evidence are available that justify incorporating the information in clinical practice.
The next skin topic that will be addressed by the NCCN NHL panel is to develop a clinical practice guideline for primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas. Practice guidelines for other cutaneous T-cell lymphomas will follow in the coming years including the CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders. Please visit the official NCCN website at “nccn.org” for more information about NCCN and its resources and activities. For MF/SS practice guidelines, please go to the “NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines”, then click on “Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas”.
Youn H. Kim, MD
Member of the NCCN NHL Panel
Joanne and Peter Haas Jr. Professor for Cutaneous Lymphoma Research
Director of the Multidisciplinary Cutaneous Lymphoma Program
Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford, California
- Slides of Dr. Youn Kim's presentation from the 66th Annual Meeting of the AAD in San Antonio, Texas, Feb 1-5, 2008
- Symp 314: CBCL (~2MB PDF)
