A 60-year-old woman from Taichung suffered from itchy bumps from mosquito bites that did not go away despite repeated treatment with ointment, only to discover she had developed lymphoma.
According to Taichung Veterans General Hospital’s Department of Dermatology director Shen Jui-lung (沈瑞隆), the middle-aged woman experienced several lumps on her skin after being bitten by mosquitoes.
Although she applied ointment to the affected areas, the lumps spread to her face and limbs and became abnormally itchy.
“We subsequently conducted a biopsy on the lumps a total of three times and all the results were normal,” Shen said. “Only after we drew the patient’s blood for testing did we discover elevated white blood cells in her body. A bone marrow biopsy later confirmed that she had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.”
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a form of cancer that affects blood-producing cells in the bone marrow. It does not usually cause any noticeable symptoms, particularly in the early stages.
Shen said that patients with lymphoma often experience a severe reaction to insect bites due to their disrupted immune system.
Those aged 60 or older are particularly prone to such conditions, which generally manifest as extremely itchy lumps or blisters that last several months and can severely affect their quality of life, Shen said.
Unlike most people, whose bug bites heal after a few days of treatment, lymphoma patients require high doses of steroid and medical therapies targeting their cancer to bring the condition under control.
“The skin is a mirror of what’s going on inside the body. People who notice abnormal skin patches or growths that do not go away should consult a dermatologist for an examination,” Shen said.
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