ALA-PDT safe, effective in actinic keratoses
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Aminolevulinic acid 20% combined with photodynamic therapy was more effective in clearing actinic keratoses on the upper extremities, meaning the arms from elbows to base of the fingers, compared to vehicle, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting.
A phase 3, randomized, evaluator-blinded, vehicle-controlled trial included 269 patients randomized into two groups. The first group was treated with ALA 20% solution-PDT, while the second was treated with vehicle-PDT.
The active group experienced a 67.8% improvement in cumulative disease area, compared to 37.2% in the vehicle group (P < .0001). After 12 weeks there was an 82.4% improvement in the active group and a 42.6% improvement in the vehicle group (P < .0001).
Complete clearance of lesions between 25 mm and 36 mm were reported in 70.6% of patients. Lesions greater than 36 mm were completely cleared in 59,5% of patients.
“ALA-PDT resulted in significantly higher clearance of treated AKs and a significantly higher percent of cumulative treated disease area cleared vs VEH-PDT, with good response of large lesions,” the authors wrote.
No clinically significant adverse events were reported, and no patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events.