| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 78
| Issue : 4 | Page : 448--453 |
Topical photodynamic therapy with methylaminolevulinate for the treatment of actinic keratosis and reduction of photodamage in organ transplant recipients: A case-series of 16 patients
Ariel Hasson, Cristián Navarrete-Dechent, Claudia Nicklas, Claudia de la Cruz
Department of Dermatology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
Correspondence Address:
Ariel Hasson
Department of Dermatology, San Joaquín Medical Center, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4686. Macul, Santiago
Chile
DOI: 10.4103/0378-6323.98075
Background: Organ transplant recipients (OTR) are at high risk of developing cutaneous neoplasms. Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) in OTR. Aims: The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of PDT with methylaminolevulinate (MAL) in the treatment of facial AK in OTR. As a secondary objective, we wanted to evaluate the usefulness of topical PDT in the reduction of photodamage in OTR. Methods: A prospective, single center, single arm study was made. 16 OTR were included. Topical PDT was applied for 1 or 2 cycles depending on the patient's characteristics. An evaluation of AK was made at visits pre-treatment, at 12 weeks and at 24 weeks. Photodamage was measured with multispectral image technique (SkinCare®). Results: A complete response rate of 100% was achieved for AK in all patients; it persisted without change at 12 and 24 weeks of follow-up. 62.5% of patients improved their photodamage as measured by SkinCare®, but this result was not statistically significant (P = 0.12). All patients had high level of satisfaction at the end of the therapy. Conclusions: MAL-PDT is an effective therapy for the treatment of AK in OTRs. It can reduce photodamage in this group of patients, but these results were not statistically significant.
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