SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. Curettage followed by imiquimod therapy continues to show promise at 2 years as a way to treat nodular and superficial basal cell carcinoma, Dr. Darrell S. Rigel said at a meeting of the American Society for Mohs Surgery.
In a study that he and his associates first presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, the researchers performed curettage on 57 patients who had nodular and superficial basal cell carcinomas. A week after curettage treatment, the patients were asked to apply imiquimod to the lesions five times a week for a total of 6 weeks.
After 1 year there were no disease recurrences. Mild hypopigmentation occurred at the site of about half of the lesions but overall the cosmetic results "were excellent," said Dr. Rigel, who is in private practice in New York. "The cosmetic results were superior to curettage and electrodesiccation," he said, adding that the study was limited to one lesion per patient.
At 2 years' follow-up, there remain no recurrences in the patients. "Combination therapy is going to change the way we're treating a lot of these lesions in the future," said Dr. Rigel, who is also president-elect of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. He noted that 60% of recurrent basal cell carcinomas clinically appear within 1 year of treatment. At 2 years, 90% of clinical recurrences will appear.
Dr. Rigel disclosed that he has served as a paid adviser and investigator for 3M Graceway Pharmaceuticals, Doak Dermatologics (a subsidiary of Bradley Pharmaceuticals Inc.), and DUSA Pharmaceuticals Inc.