Study on Dead Sea climatotherapy for mycosis fungoides

Dead Sea climatotherapy (KTM) is an established therapeutic method for moderate to severe psoriasis vulgaris and leads to long-lasting remissions. It has also been shown to be effective in atopic dermatitis, another T-cell mediated dermatosis.

The Rabin Medical Center study was designed to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of KTM in patch-stage mycosis fungoides.

A total of 12 patients with patch-stage mycosis fungoides were treated exclusively with KTM for 28 consecutive days according to the protocol for psoriasis, i.e. with a gradual increase in sun exposure to a maximum of 3 hours daily.

In total, 9 patients achieved complete clinical remission, defined as the absence of any disease activity; 2 patients achieved almost complete remission (reduction of disease activity by more than 90%); and 1 patient achieved partial remission (reduction of disease activity by more than 50%). Remission was achieved in all patients with stage IA and in 3 of the 6 patients with stage IB. Histopathological healing was also observed in 6 of the 9 patients with mycosis fungoides. The duration of remission, during which no therapy other than emollients was allowed, was 2 to 9 months (average: 5 months). No serious short-term side effects were observed.