(HealthDay News) – For patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), treatment with imiquimod or photodynamic therapy (PDT) results in similar long-term tumor-free survival, according to a review published online May 21 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Marieke H. Roozeboom, MD, from the Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to determine residue, recurrence, and tumor-free survival for patients with sBCC treated with frequently used therapies. Thirty-six (14 randomized and 22 non-randomized) studies were included.
The researchers found that, based on 28 studies, the pooled estimates of percentages of sBCC with complete response 12 weeks after treatment were 86.2% for imiquimod and 79.0% for PDT. At one year, tumor-free survival was 87.3% for imiquimod and 84% for PDT, based on pooled estimates from 23 studies. Treatment results with 5-fluorouracil, surgical excision, and cryotherapy were reported by a small number of studies.
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“Pooled estimates from randomized and non-randomized studies showed similar tumor-free survival at 1 year for imiquimod and PDT,” the authors write. “There is a need for head-to-head comparison studies between PDT, imiquimod, and other treatments with long-term follow-up to enable better recommendations for optimal sBCC treatment.”
