Comparative study on the sustained efficacy of diphencyprone immunotherapy versus cryotherapy in viral warts

Effectiveness and safety of topical application of diphenylcyclopropenone versus podophyllin in treatment of genital warts

BACKGROUND

Many therapeutic modalities are available for treating genital warts; however, the effectiveness of both diphenylcyclopropenone and podophyllin is still controversial.

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of diphenylcyclopropenone and podophyllin in treating genital warts.

METHODS

This study included 57 patients, divided randomly into two groups. Group (A): diphenylcyclopropenone (n = 29). Group (B): podophyllin 25% (n = 28). In group (A), sensitization was done with 2% diphenylcyclopropenone. Then, after 1 or 2 weeks, treatment started with a weekly application of diphenylcyclopropenone solutions ranging between 0.001 and 1% until clearance, or for a maximum of 10 sessions. In group (B), podophyllin 25% was applied weekly until clearance or for a maximum of 6 weeks.

RESULTS

Higher clearance was achieved in group A, with 19 of 29 (65.5%) patients, than in group B, with 9 of 28 (32.1%) (p-value = 0.004). Also, effectiveness increases with young age in group A. Shorter wart duration was associated with better response in both groups (p-value = 0.005). No serious adverse effects occurred in either group. No recurrence was detected in group A, while seven patients (77.8%) had recurrence in group B after 1 year of follow up.

CONCLUSION

Diphenylcyclopropenone shows a higher success rate than podophyllin in treating genital warts and a lower recurrence rate.

Use of Contact Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Skin Diseases Other than Alopecia Areata

For decades, contact immunotherapy with dinitrochlorobenzene, diphencyprone, and squaric acid dibutylester has played an important role in both clinical practice and scientific research. It is listed as the first-line treatment for extensive alopecia areata and was more recently approved for melanoma treatment as an orphan drug in the USA. Moreover, owing to the relative low cost and safety, topical immunotherapy has also been used in many infectious, neoplastic, and inflammatory dermatological diseases. It is especially valuable in vulnerable groups, for cosmetic/pain sensitive areas, or for multiple lesions. In this review, we summarize the current evidence supporting the use of contact immunotherapy for treatment of skin diseases, from articles collected from PubMed database. Owing to space limitation and already numerous studies focusing on alopecia areata, we include only skin diseases other than alopecia areata. In addition to diseases that have been reported to be treated by contact immunotherapy, the hypothesized mechanism, prognosis prediction, efficacy, and safety of these topical agents are discussed.

The efficacy of diphencyprone immunotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous warts: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Cutaneous warts, a common skin condition, may resolve spontaneously or become recalcitrant. Diphencyprone has been shown by many studies to have efficacy in treating warts, with varied results.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to perform a meta-analysis of the cure rate following the use of diphencyprone immunotherapy as a cutaneous wart treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The databases of Medline, PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched for prospective and retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials reporting a cure rate for diphencyprone immunotherapy between 1984 and 2018. The Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Biostat Inc) was used to perform a meta-analysis of the diphencyprone pool efficacy.

RESULTS

A total of 153 studies were obtained by searching the databases. After screening for eligibility, 14 studies were included (6 prospective studies, 4 retrospective studies, 3 randomized controlled trials, and 1 case report), representing a total of 851 patients. The random-effects pooled efficacy for diphencyprone was 75.5% (95% CI, 64.6%-83.9%; I² = 87%).

CONCLUSIONS

Diphencyprone immunotherapy has a high efficacy to cure warts. This method may be used as an adjunctive modality for the treatment of warts in cases of conventional treatment failure.

Efficacy of Intralesional Cryosurgery in the Treatment of Multiple Extragenital Cutaneous Warts: A Randomized Controlled Study

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of intralesional (IL) cryosurgery in the treatment of cutaneous warts has not been previously studied.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficacy and safety of IL cryosurgery versus electrosurgery in multiple extragenital warts and investigate their effect on serum interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-one patients were included; 18 received IL cryosurgery, and 13 had electrosurgery. Treatment was performed for the largest or few (2-3) small warts (target) until cleared, leaving the remaining (distant) warts untreated. Clinical response of the target and distant warts and adverse effects were evaluated. Serum IL-12 and IFN-γ levels were assessed before and after treatment.

RESULTS

All patients had complete clearing of the treated wart in both groups. IL cryosurgery was well tolerated; infection, ulceration, and recurrence occurred only with electrosurgery. Complete/near-complete resolution of the distant untreated warts was seen in 33.3% versus none of patients in the IL cryosurgery and electrosurgery groups, respectively (p = .003). Furthermore, IL-12 and IFN-γ levels showed a tendency to increase after IL cryosurgery, and their increase correlated with distant wart response.

CONCLUSION

Intralesional cryosurgery is effective not only in clearing treated warts but also resolving untreated warts and possibly enhances human papillomavirus-directed immune response.

Immunomodulatory effects of topical diphencyprone for the treatment of acute urban cutaneous leishmaniasis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Efficacious and safe treatments are lacking for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). This study investigates the efficacy of adding diphencyprone immunotherapy to conventional meglumine antimoniate (MA) treatment for acute urban CL.

METHODS

This randomized controlled pilot study included 46 patients with acute CL. They were randomly allocated to receive either combination of diphencyprone immunotherapy with intralesional MA (intervention; N = 23) or intralesional MA alone (control; N = 23) weekly. The size and duration of lesions were measured at the baseline and after that at 4th, 8th, 12th, and 24th weeks. Data were analyzed in SPSS and p < .05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The groups showed no significant difference in duration of lesions, but number of injections was significantly higher in the control group compared with the intervention group (p < .001). Size and induration of lesions was significantly reduced in both groups during the course of study (p < .001). The intervention group showed significantly lower induration of lesions in 4th, 8th, and 12th week compared with controls (p < .05).

CONCLUSION

Combination of diphencyprone with MA resulted in earlier resolution of acute CL lesions with a relatively acceptable rate of adverse effects, compared with intralesional MA alone.

The Effectiveness of Cutaneous Wart Resolution with Current Treatment Modalities

Non-venereal warts are a frequent dermatological presentation with potential spontaneous regression in immunocompetent adults and children within 2 years. Evidence shows that conventional wart treatments are not a guaranteed treatment modality and can carry concerns regarding safety. The aim of this literature review was to identify the most effective treatments for wart resolution to guide clinical practice while identifying areas for further research.

A systematic literature review was performed to determine the current treatment modalities for non-anogenital cutaneous warts in immunocompetent individuals and their effectiveness. Articles were categorized into one of eight groups depending on anatomical location, population age, or recalcitrant status with ranked levels of evidence.

This literature review highlights a variety of treatments for non-venereal warts shown to be effective. In this instance where optimal evidence-based treatments are not available, clinical experience determines the most appropriate clinical practice.

Further reproducible immunotherapy research on wart resolution is required to enable clear comparisons of these treatment modalities to conventional methods. Future clinical practice will require the human papillomavirus type to target the wart treatment accordingly; however, further research is required to determine these correlations.

Intralesional Mycobacterium w Vaccine Versus Cryotherapy in Treatment of Refractory Extragenital Warts

Background:

Initial reports of immunotherapy using intralesional Mycobacterium w (Mw) vaccine have documented its useful role in treatment of genital and extragenital warts.

Objectives:

To compare the efficacy and safety of intralesional Mw vaccine versus cryotherapy in the treatment of refractory extragenital warts.

Methods:

This was a prospective, randomized, comparative study of 66 patients. The outcome was assessed in terms of complete clearance of warts and change in Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score.

Results:

Complete clearance of treated warts was seen in 66.7% (20/30) and 65.5% (19/29) of patients in the Mw and cryotherapy groups, respectively ( P = .769). Clearance of distant warts was significantly ( P = .004) high in the Mw group. Improvement in DLQI was greater in the Mw group. Both treatment modalities were well tolerated, and no major side effects occurred.

Conclusions:

Mw vaccine and cryotherapy are equally efficacious in treatment of refractory extragenital warts. Mw vaccine has an added advantage of clearance of distant warts.

Intralesional antigen immunotherapy for the treatment of warts: current concepts and future prospects

Many destructive and immunotherapeutic modalities have been used for the management of warts; however, an optimal treatment with high efficacy and absent or low recurrence has not been explored to date. Recently, the use of intralesional immunotherapy with different antigens has shown promising efficacy in the treatment of warts. We review the different aspects of this new modality, including candidates, types of warts treated, dosage, number and interval between treatment sessions, mode of action, efficacy, adverse effects, recurrence rate, advantages, disadvantages, current place and future prospects. A literature review revealed that healthy immune subjects are the best candidates, and a pre-sensitization test is usually done before the start of therapy. The dosage, the number and interval between sessions, and the success rates varied among the different studies. The mode of action is still uncertain, but is essentially mediated through stimulation of T helper-1 cell cytokine response. Adverse effects are mild and generally insignificant, and the recurrence rate is absent or low. Intralesional antigen immunotherapy seems to be a promising, effective and safe treatment modality for viral warts. Future well-designed and controlled studies would help to more clearly define its place in the challenging field of wart therapy.

Treatment of cutaneous warts: an evidence-based review

Cutaneous warts are common skin lesions caused by human papillomavirus infection. Treatment is aimed at relieving the patient's physical and psychological discomfort and at preventing the spread of infection by autoinoculation. Among the available medical and destructive therapeutic options for cutaneous warts, none is uniformly effective or virucidal. Moreover, in most cases their safety and efficacy has not been assessed in double-blind, controlled clinical trials, so that the reproducibility of many of the listed treatments is difficult to evaluate and a possible placebo effect cannot be ruled out. The aim of this article is to describe the outcome of current therapies for each clinical wart type according to evidence-based medicine studies published in the literature. For each clinical form, the existing treatments are classified as first-, second-, and third-line therapy. First-line therapy includes medical treatments (salicylic acid, silver nitrate, glutaraldehyde) that are useful to treat a single wart or a few and/or small common warts of short duration (less than 1 year). If these treatments have failed or are contraindicated, cryotherapy may be considered as second-line therapy. For recurrent or difficult-to-treat lesions, third-line therapy includes a variety of alternative therapeutic options (topical, intralesional, systemic, and physical destruction) that are generally off-label (not US FDA approved), and whose use is limited by drawbacks or adverse effects. From pooled evidence-based medicine data, it is possible to conclude that significantly higher remission rates may be expected only with cryotherapy and salicylic acid used in combination.

Update: treatment of cutaneous viral warts in children

Warts remain one of the most common reasons for dermatology and primary care visits, yet no definitive therapy is available. Treatment of pediatric patients adds additional challenges, as the adept provider must effectively manage parents' expectations and patients' fears. This article provides an update on research in the field of viral cutaneous wart therapies with a focus on pediatric patients. Safety issues and potential complications of therapy are also addressed.

A Two-week Interval Is Better Than a Three-week Interval for Reducing the Recurrence Rate of Hand-foot Viral Warts after Cryotherapy: A Retrospective Review of 560 Hand-foot Viral Warts Patients

BACKGROUND

Viral warts are a common infectious disease and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy is one of the most common methods for treatment of these warts. Hand-foot viral warts frequently recur and reduce quality of life as well.

OBJECTIVE

To find the ideal treatment interval between cryotherapy sessions that can influence not only the cure rate but also the recurrence rate for hand-foot viral warts.

METHODS

A retrospective study was designed to compare a 2 week interval and a 3 week interval between cryotherapy sessions on hand-foot viral warts with respect to cure rate, recurrence rate, treatment number, duration of treatment, mean time to recurrence and adverse events.

RESULTS

A total of 560 patients were enrolled. The overall cure rate was 75.7% and the recurrence rate was 19.6%. The mean time to recurrence was 7.8 months (range 1~26 months). For the 2-week and 3-week groups, cure rates were, respectively, 76.6% (196) and 75.0% (228); recurrence rates were 13.3% (26) and 25.0% (57). The mean time to recurrence was 9.8 months and 6.9 months, respectively. Adverse events were not statistically different.

CONCLUSION

We suggested that 2-week cryotherapy is optimal not only because of the rapid cure but also because of the lower recurrence rate and similar adverse events.