Involuting common warts. Clinical and histopathologic findings

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Immunology

Background:

• Common warts (verrucae vulgaris) are caused by human papillomavirus.
• Previous studies on wart regression focused on lesions that turned black, potentially missing other regression patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the patterns of common wart regression.
• To identify indicators of wart involution and enable further research during critical healing phases.

Main Methods:

• Patients with multiple verrucae vulgaris lesions applied topical agents.
• Lesions were observed regularly until disappearance.
• Microscopic examination of persistent warts was performed.

Main Results:

• Wart regression occurred without blackening in most cases.
• Lesion disappearance was asynchronous; some warts persisted longer than others.
• Microscopic analysis of persistent warts revealed mononuclear cell infiltration, exocytosis, and epidermal changes.

Conclusions:

• Wart regression can occur without the characteristic blackening observed in some studies.
• The asynchronous regression of multiple warts suggests an ongoing involutionary process.
• Identifying this period clinically may facilitate research into wart resolution mechanisms.