Sequential use of photodynamic therapy and imiquimod 5% cream for the treatment of XXXX : a 12-month follow-up study.

@entity1 @entity4906 @entity19297 @entity957 @entity15608
BACKGROUND: @entity15608 ( @entity15608 ) may progress into fully developed @entity957 with a relatively high risk of metastasizing and therefore requires early identification and treatment. OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical and histological long-term outcome as well as the safety and tolerability of sequential use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and imiquimod in @entity15608 . METHODS: @entity1 with histologically confirmed grade 1 and 2 @entity15608 received two @entity19297 - @entity4906 sessions 2weeks apart. After a 2-week rest period the @entity1 started applying imiquimod 5% cream 3days per week for 4weeks. At the first follow-up visits at 3 and 6months, noncomplete clinical responders were biopsied and excluded from the study if histological alterations were indicative for @entity15608 . At the last 12-month follow-up all remaining @entity1 were biopsied. Adverse events were noted at weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8 of the treatment phase and at every visit of the follow-up period. RESULTS: Of the 34 enrolled @entity1 , 30 completed the study. Complete clinical response was achieved by 27 @entity1 in 3months. At 6months, clinical and histological recurrence occurred in two @entity1 , while at 12months the complete clinical cure rate obtained was 80% and the histological complete cure rate was 73%. Treatment was well tolerated and adverse events were as expected and transient. CONCLUSION: Sequential use of PDT and imiquimod cream is of significant benefit for the treatment of @entity15608 . Further studies are needed in order to confirm the improved outcome using the combination treatment, to clarify the involved mechanisms and to optimize the therapeutic protocol.
