BACKGROUND: Imiquimod has been successfully used for treatment of various epithelial cutaneous neoplasms. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of imiquimod 5% cream for treatment of Bowen's disease and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients who were unsuitable candidates for surgery. METHOD: Five Bowen's disease lesions and 7 invasive SCC lesions on 10 patients were treated with imiquimod once daily 5 times a week for a maximum of 16 weeks. RESULTS: After 8 to 12 weeks of treatment, 4 of 5 Bowen's disease lesions (80%) and 5 of 7 invasive SCCs (71.4%) showed complete clinicopathologic regression. The remaining 3 lesions showed partial regression after 16 weeks of treatment. No recurrence has been detected after a follow-up period of 24 to 38 months (mean, 31 months). LIMITATIONS: The study is an open-label clinical trial on a small number of selected patients, with lack of excision with serial step sections. CONCLUSION: Topical application of imiquimod 5% cream might represent an alternative topical treatment to surgery in selected cases of Bowen's disease and invasive SCC.
BACKGROUND:Imiquimod has been successfully used for treatment of various epithelial cutaneous neoplasms. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of imiquimod 5% cream for treatment of Bowen's disease and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients who were unsuitable candidates for surgery. METHOD: Five Bowen's disease lesions and 7 invasive SCC lesions on 10 patients were treated with imiquimod once daily 5 times a week for a maximum of 16 weeks. RESULTS: After 8 to 12 weeks of treatment, 4 of 5 Bowen's disease lesions (80%) and 5 of 7 invasive SCCs (71.4%) showed complete clinicopathologic regression. The remaining 3 lesions showed partial regression after 16 weeks of treatment. No recurrence has been detected after a follow-up period of 24 to 38 months (mean, 31 months). LIMITATIONS: The study is an open-label clinical trial on a small number of selected patients, with lack of excision with serial step sections. CONCLUSION: Topical application of imiquimod 5% cream might represent an alternative topical treatment to surgery in selected cases of Bowen's disease and invasive SCC.
Authors: Terry H Wu; Karin Schreiber; Ainhoa Arina; Nikolai N Khodarev; Elena V Efimova; Donald A Rowley; Ralph R Weichselbaum; Hans Schreiber Journal: Cancer Immun Date: 2011-06-30
Authors: Susan J Huang; Dirkjan Hijnen; George F Murphy; Thomas S Kupper; Adam W Calarese; Ilse G Mollet; Carl F Schanbacher; Danielle M Miller; Chrysalyne D Schmults; Rachael A Clark Journal: J Invest Dermatol Date: 2009-06-11 Impact factor: 8.551
Authors: Ahmed E Gehad; Michael K Lichtman; Chrysalyne D Schmults; Jessica E Teague; Adam W Calarese; Ying Jiang; Rei Watanabe; Rachael A Clark Journal: J Invest Dermatol Date: 2012-06-21 Impact factor: 8.551