Treatment of superficial vascular anomalies with topical sirolimus: A multicenter case series

Systemic sirolimus (rapamycin) has recently been found effective in treating complex vascular anomalies by reducing the size and associated complications. Many vascular anomalies have a cutaneous component, and thus, we sought to determine whether topical administration of sirolimus may be an effective therapy, as data on the use of topical sirolimus are limited.

We reviewed the efficacy and tolerability of topical formulations of sirolimus in the treatment of various simple and combined vascular malformations and tumors.

Eighteen patients with any vascular anomaly treated exclusively with topical sirolimus were retrospectively reviewed.

Eleven patients had combined venous lymphatic malformations, three had tufted angiomas, two had a lymphatic malformation, one had a venous malformation, and one had a verrucous venous malformation. All (100%) patients reported some degree of improvement and 50% of patients reported marked improvement in one or more symptoms, most commonly blebs and lymphatic drainage, and bleeding.

The retrospective nature, small number of patients, and differences in topical preparations limit the broad application of the results.

Topical sirolimus appears to be a safe and useful non-invasive therapy that is well-tolerated in the treatment of the cutaneous portion of a variety of vascular anomalies.