THERAPEUTICAL NOTE   

Esperienze Dermatologiche 2018 March;20(1):15-7

DOI: 10.23736/S1128-9155.18.00466-1

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Imiquimod 5%: an effective adjuvant treatment after surgical excision of extensive ano-perianal condylomatosis

Elena GUANZIROLI ¹, Matteo MATERNINI ² ✉, Marco CHIARELLI ³, Angelo GUTTADAURO ²

¹ Department of Medical-Surgical Physiopathology and Transplantation, University of Milan, I.R.C.C.S. Cà Granda Foundation, Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy; ² Department of Surgery, Istituti Clinici Zucchi, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Monza-Brianza, Italy; ³ Department of General Surgery, Hospital of Lecco, Lecco, Italy

Anoperianal condylomatosis, a clinical expression of an HPV mucosal infection, is one of the most common viral sexually transmitted disease in young population worldwide. Many treatments are described depend to the extension of the disease, including topical therapies (imiquimod 5% or podophyllotoxin). The enhancement of the cutaneous antiviral immune response is possible by the application of imiquimod, the first representative of a new class of immune response modifiers with potent antiviral and antitumoral properties. A retrospective study has been done to assess whether the application of imiquimod 5% 3 times a week for 16 weeks decreased the percentage of recurrence of perianal condylomatosis after surgical excision. Two patients, one during the treatment phase and one during follow-up, developed recurrent warts in the target area, corresponding to 6.7% of all patients included in the study. These data seem to demonstrate that topical imiquimod is a safe and effective therapeutic approach to reduce the incidence of warts recurrences after macroscopically successful surgical excision.

KEY WORDS: Papillomavirus infections - Imiquimod - Surgery