ABSTRACT
Analysis of prognostic factors is an important exercise for any malignancy in order to develop staging classifications, stratification factors for clinical trials, and treatment algorithms. Moreover, understanding of the crucial prognostic factors that drive the progression of any cancer is important to understand the biology of that malignancy as it pertains to patient care and education. A staging classification is a crucial instrument for communication between investigators and centers and should describe the important pathways of progression for that malignancy. In this chapter, we undertake a review of advances in our understanding of the various prognostic factors for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), including clinical, histopathological, and molecular factors that help describe the outcome associated with this disease. Moreover, we discuss the current staging classification for CTCL and attempts to revise the staging classification using the advances in prognostic factor identification and analysis.
