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Prognostic markers in lentigo maligna patients treated with imiquimod cream: A long-term follow-up study
Mirja Gautschi1, Patrick A Oberholzer1, Marc Baumgartner1
1Department of Dermatology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Background:
More data are needed to define factors that predict long-term success after imiquimod therapy for lentigo maligna (LM).
Objective:
We sought to determine the demographic, clinical, and histologic prognostic markers of relapse-free survival in patients with LM who were treated with imiquimod.
Methods:
This was a single-arm, open-label, nonrandomized, prospective study.
Results:
Eighty-nine patients with histologically confirmed LM and a median follow-up time of 4.8 years after imiquimod treatment were included in our study. Sixteen patients (18%) relapsed. Statistically significant indicators of an increased risk of local recurrence included: the total number of melanocytes, the number of basal and suprabasal melanocytes and the number of pagetoid spreading melanocytes.
Limitations:
Our study was a single-center, nonrandomized study.
Conclusion:
An assessment of different melanocyte fractions in the diagnostic baseline biopsy specimen may help to predict the response of LM to imiquimod therapy.
