BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment modality for skin malignancies. Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) has been well studied in Europe and North America. However, there have only been a few clinical studies that have evaluated ALA-PDT for the treatment of AK in Chinese patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to determine the therapeutic response of Chinese patients with AK lesions to photodynamic therapy (PDT), and the histologic changes associated with PDT. METHODS: Forty-two patients with a total of 56 AK lesions on the face were enrolled in this study. After the application of 20% ALA under occlusion for 5h, the lesions were illuminated by diode laser (λ=630 nm; intensity 100 mW/cm(2)) for 30 min. All patients were reviewed at intervals of at least 2 weeks. One month after therapy, response to PDT was evaluated and treatment repeated if necessary. RESULTS: At 1 month after PDT, a complete response was achieved in 85.71% of treated lesions. The remaining lesions received one or two additional PDT treatments, and were eventually cleared. Clinically, there was no significant scarring or pigmentary changes after therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In this small study, PDT using topical ALA was demonstrated to be a safe and effective therapy for AK lesions with excellent cosmetic outcome. It is a promising treatment that merits further study in China.
BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment modality for skin malignancies. Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) has been well studied in Europe and North America. However, there have only been a few clinical studies that have evaluated ALA-PDT for the treatment of AK in Chinese patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to determine the therapeutic response of Chinese patients with AK lesions to photodynamic therapy (PDT), and the histologic changes associated with PDT. METHODS: Forty-two patients with a total of 56 AK lesions on the face were enrolled in this study. After the application of 20% ALA under occlusion for 5h, the lesions were illuminated by diode laser (λ=630 nm; intensity 100 mW/cm(2)) for 30 min. All patients were reviewed at intervals of at least 2 weeks. One month after therapy, response to PDT was evaluated and treatment repeated if necessary. RESULTS: At 1 month after PDT, a complete response was achieved in 85.71% of treated lesions. The remaining lesions received one or two additional PDT treatments, and were eventually cleared. Clinically, there was no significant scarring or pigmentary changes after therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In this small study, PDT using topical ALA was demonstrated to be a safe and effective therapy for AK lesions with excellent cosmetic outcome. It is a promising treatment that merits further study in China.
Authors: C Meierhofer; K Silic; M V Urban; Adrian Tanew; Sonja Radakovic Journal: Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed Date: 2020-10-13 Impact factor: 3.135