BACKGROUND: Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been shown to be an effective first-line treatment for actinic keratosis (AK). However, a major limitation of PDT is the long incubation time required to allow penetration of the photosensitizer. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess if pretreatment with an ablative carbon dioxide (CO2) fractional laser can reduce the incubation time of the photosensitizer. METHODS: Initially, 29 patients with a total of 34 AK lesions were treated with an ablative CO2 fractional laser at Ajou University Hospital between January and December 2010. Immediately after the laser treatment, topical 20% 5-aminolevulinic acid or methyl-aminolevulinate was applied to the AK lesions and incubated for 70 to 90 minutes. Then, the treated areas were illuminated with a red light source. Improvement was clinically or histologically assessed eight weeks after the treatment. RESULTS: In spite of the short incubation time, 24 lesions (70.6%) showed a complete response (CR) within three sessions of PDT (10 lesions a clinical CR and 14 lesions a clinical/histological CR). There were no significant side effects associated with the combination of ablative CO2 fractional laser and PDT. CONCLUSION: Ablative CO2 fractional laser may be considered an additional treatment option for reducing the incubation time of the photosensitizer in PDT.
BACKGROUND: Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been shown to be an effective first-line treatment for actinic keratosis (AK). However, a major limitation of PDT is the long incubation time required to allow penetration of the photosensitizer. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess if pretreatment with an ablative carbon dioxide (CO2) fractional laser can reduce the incubation time of the photosensitizer. METHODS: Initially, 29 patients with a total of 34 AK lesions were treated with an ablative CO2 fractional laser at Ajou University Hospital between January and December 2010. Immediately after the laser treatment, topical 20% 5-aminolevulinic acid or methyl-aminolevulinate was applied to the AK lesions and incubated for 70 to 90 minutes. Then, the treated areas were illuminated with a red light source. Improvement was clinically or histologically assessed eight weeks after the treatment. RESULTS: In spite of the short incubation time, 24 lesions (70.6%) showed a complete response (CR) within three sessions of PDT (10 lesions a clinical CR and 14 lesions a clinical/histological CR). There were no significant side effects associated with the combination of ablative CO2 fractional laser and PDT. CONCLUSION: Ablative CO2 fractional laser may be considered an additional treatment option for reducing the incubation time of the photosensitizer in PDT.
Authors: R M Szeimies; S Karrer; S Radakovic-Fijan; A Tanew; P G Calzavara-Pinton; C Zane; A Sidoroff; M Hempel; J Ulrich; T Proebstle; H Meffert; M Mulder; D Salomon; H C Dittmar; J W Bauer; K Kernland; L Braathen Journal: J Am Acad Dermatol Date: 2002-08 Impact factor: 11.527
Authors: Nathalie C Zeitouni; Neal Bhatia; Roger I Ceilley; Joel L Cohen; James Q Del Rosso; Angela Y Moore; Gilly Munavalli; David M Pariser; Todd Schlesinger; Daniel M Siegel; Andrea Willey; Mitchel P Goldman Journal: J Clin Aesthet Dermatol Date: 2021-10