Las pruebas y los procedimientos que se utilizan para diagnosticar el linfoma cutáneo de linfocitos B comprenden los siguientes:

• Examen físico. El profesional de atención médica te revisará con detenimiento la piel en busca de otros signos que puedan dar indicios sobre tu diagnóstico.
• Biopsia de piel. Una biopsia es un procedimiento que consiste en extraer una muestra de tejido para analizarla en un laboratorio. El profesional de atención médica también podría extraer una muestra pequeña de la piel afectada. La muestra se analiza en un laboratorio para determinar si hay células de linfoma.
• Análisis de sangre. Es posible que se analice una muestra de tu sangre para detectar células de linfoma.
• Biopsia de médula ósea. Es posible que se evalúe una muestra de tu médula ósea para detectar células de linfoma.
• Estudios por imágenes. Los estudios por imágenes ayudan al profesional de atención médica a evaluar tu afección. Algunos ejemplos de estudios por imágenes incluyen tomografías computarizadas y tomografías por emisión de positrones.

Skin biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure to remove a sample of tissue for testing in a lab. Your healthcare professional may remove a small piece of the affected skin. The sample is tested in a lab to look for lymphoma cells.

Blood tests

Blood tests can sometimes show whether lymphoma cells are present. Blood tests may be used to test for viruses, including HIV, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. The presence of a virus may affect treatment options. Blood tests also measure levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which is often higher in people with systemic lymphoma.

Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration

Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration are procedures that involve collecting cells from the bone marrow. The cells are sent for testing.

In a bone marrow aspiration, a needle is used to draw a sample of the fluid. In a bone marrow biopsy, a needle is used to collect a small amount of the solid tissue. The samples most often come from the hip bone. Your bone marrow may be tested to look for lymphoma cells.

Imaging tests

Imaging tests make pictures of the body. They can show if the lymphoma is only in the skin. Tests might include CT and positron emission tomography (PET) scans.

Testing lymphoma cells in the lab

Lymphoma cells collected from a biopsy or a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy go to a lab for testing. In the lab, specialized tests look for specific things about the cells. The healthcare team uses the results to determine the type of lymphoma that you have.

To decide whether the cells are cutaneous B-cell lymphoma cells, the healthcare professionals in the lab look for:

• Proteins on the surface of the cancer cells. Cutaneous B-cell lymphoma cells have certain proteins on their surfaces that help identify them. These proteins are known as markers. These markers can help identify the type of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma.
• Changes in the cancer cell DNA. Cancer happens when cells have changes in their DNA. Lab tests can show which DNA changes are present in the lymphoma cells.