Everolimus in Treating Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a rare form of lymphoma of the skin. While early stages are usually confined to the skin, later stages may spread to blood, lymph nodes and other organs. At this point, patients usually require systemic chemotherapy. This study will investigate the effect of everolimus as a treatment for patients diagnosed with CTCL that has either not responded to previous treatments or has recurred despite previous treatments. Everolimus is the common name for the commercial drug Afinitor® (Novartis). It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in kidney and brain cancer. In several different forms of lymphomas, everolimus is used as an investigational drug, which means it has not been approved by the FDA for this group of diseases. Everolimus blocks a protein (mTOR) that helps cells and tumors to grow. Earlier studies have indicated that the drug everolimus may work against lymphomas including cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Participation in this study will last as long as the study doctor believes disease has not gotten worse, and patients continue to tolerate the study medication for a maximum of 1 year. Once off the treatment, patients will be followed for two years.