Topical condyloma treatment: comparative evidence for a common problem

Successful application of aminolevulinic acid/photodynamic therapy in the treatment of giant condyloma acuminatum in an 87-year-old patient

Condyloma acuminatum is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by human papillomavirus infection and is a benign hyperplastic lesion of the genital and perianal areas. The principle of its treatment is to remove the visible warts as much as possible and to prevent recurrence. Traditional treatment methods of condyloma acuminatum, such as CO2 laser, liquid nitrogen freezing, surgery, and topical medications, can remove warts. However, these methods have disadvantages such as pain, high recurrence rates, long treatment cycles, and scarring. Aminolevulinic acid/photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT), a safe and effective method, has been widely used to treat condyloma acuminatum in recent years. Condyloma acuminatum occurs relatively rarely in elderly patients, in whom treatment is difficult owing to poorer physiological function. We successfully treated an 87-year-old patient with a giant condyloma acuminatum of the glans penis using six sessions of ALA-PDT at 7-day intervals and obtained satisfactory results. No recurrence was observed during a 6-month follow-up. Therefore, ALA-PDT is worth popularizing in clinical practice.