Ablative fractional laser–assisted delivery of topical fluorouracil resulted in 100% histologic clearance in patients with squamous cell carcinoma in situ and 71% in patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma, based on data from 28 patients (mean age 71 years). Each patient underwent one pass with an ablative fractional laser, followed by one application of topical 5-FU 5% under occlusion for 7 days.
Histologic clearance and patient satisfaction were assessed 4-8 weeks after treatment; no serious adverse events were reported, and all patients said they would recommend the treatment to others.
“This treatment modality may be particularly useful for older patients, tumors located on lower extremities or back, and multiple tumors scattered on different areas of the body,” although controlled studies in diverse populations with longer follow-up times are needed, wrote Dr. Bichchau T. Nguyen of Tufts University, Boston, and colleagues (JAAD 2015; 72:558-60).
Read the full article from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology here.