Management of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia with Topical and Intralesional Interferon Alpha 2B in Mexicans

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is the most common nonpigmented ocular surface neoplasm and it can originate from the conjunctiva and/ or corneal epithelium. Since the rate of recurrence after surgical excision is high, chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents such as interferon alpha-2b (IFN α-2b) have been used for its treatment.

Our objective is to describe the demographic variables of patients with OSSN treated with IFN α-2b and to describe the outcomes of its use in Mexican patients, treated between 2011 and 2017 at Instituto de Oftalmología Fundación Conde de Valenciana.

This is a non-randomized retrospective interventional case series. We reviewed the files of patients older than 18 years, with clinical and/or histopathological diagnosis of OSSN, treated with IFN α-2b alone or in combination with surgery, with a minimum of 6 months follow-up. We studied demographic variables, such as gender, age, eye affected and associated risks factors; we also studied the type of therapy with interferon (topical, intralesional and/or associated with surgery), time of treatment, time of follow up, recurrences and complications.

A total of 39 patients were included. The mean age of diagnosis was 61 ± 16 years and OSSN was more frequent in males (64.1% of cases). Most of the cases (43.6%) had no identifiable risk factors. The mean time of IFN α-2b treatment was 5 ± 2 months, being higher in the intralesional group (6.5 months) than in the topical group (4.2 months). The clinical resolution with the use of IFN α-2b was evidenced between 0.5 and 10 months, being achieved in 87.1% of the patients.

The use of IFN α-2b is effective for the treatment of OSSN with a high success rate (87.1%) and a low incidence of relapse (5 cases), with no reported complications during follow up.