Warts And Molluscum

Needle-free injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is effective for the treatment of palmoplantar warts, according to a research letter published online on Nov. 29 in the
 
 Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
 
 .




 Yue Wu, from Zhongda Hospital in Nanjing, China, and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial to explore the efficacy and safety of needle-free injection of 5-FU versus cryosurgery therapy for treating palmoplantar warts. Seventy-six patients aged 10 to 75 years with palmoplantar warts were randomly assigned to receive a maximum of three sessions of needle-free injection of 5-FU or cryotherapy every three to four weeks. Patients in the needle-free group received intralesional injections of 5-FU with an injector; a mixture of 5-FU and lidocaine was injected vertically into each wart. Liquid nitrogen was applied with a spray to participants in the cryotherapy group.




 The researchers found that 63.16 percent of patients in the needle-free injection group showed complete response (CR), 26.32 percent showed partial response (PR), and 10.53 percent showed no response (NR). In the cryosurgery group, 21.05, 63.16, and 15.79 percent had CR, PR, and NR, respectively. The visual analog scale of the needle-free injection group varied from 1 to 7, with a median of 3, while the median was 6.5 for cryotherapy. Neither group reported serious adverse effects.




 "Our study suggested that needle-free injection of 5-FU was a promising therapy, especially for patients who were pain-averse and needle-phobic," the authors write.




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(22)03144-9/pdf" target="_blank">
 Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
 </a>

More patients in 5-FU versus cryotherapy group had complete response to treatment, and median VAS was lower

Is Needle-Free Injection of 5-FU Effective for Palmoplantar Warts?

Use of berdazimer gel seems efficacious and safe for treatment of molluscum contagiosum (MC), according to a study published online July 13 in
 
 JAMA Dermatology
 
 .




 John C. Browning, M.D., from Texas Dermatology and Laser Specialists in San Antonio, and colleagues conducted a phase 3 randomized clinical trial in 55 clinics in the United States to examine the efficacy and safety of berdazimer gel, 10.3 percent, for treatment of MC. Eligible participants, aged 6 months or older and with three to 70 raised MC lesions, were randomly assigned to either berdazimer gel or vehicle gel (444 and 447 participants, respectively), applied to all lesions as a thin layer once daily for 12 weeks.




 The researchers found that at week 12, 32.4 and 19.7 percent of patients in the berdazimer and vehicle groups, respectively, achieved complete clearance of MC lesions (odds ratio, 2.0), with 14.4 and 8.9 percent of those receiving berdazimer and vehicle, respectively, discontinuing treatment due to MC clearance. Application-site pain and erythema were the most common adverse events and were mostly mild in severity. Overall, 4.1 and 0.7 percent of patients in the berdazimer and vehicle groups, respectively, had adverse events leading to discontinuation.




 "Berdazimer is under consideration as a first-in-class therapeutic agent for MC and may provide a topical prescription alternative to other therapies used for this highly contagious and psychosocially challenging skin condition," the authors write.




 Several authors disclosed financial ties to Novan, which manufactures berdazimer and funded the study.




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2794188" target="_blank">
 Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
 </a>




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2794190" target="_blank">
 Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
 </a>

Odds of complete clearance of MC lesions increased for patients receiving berdazimer gel 10.3 percent versus vehicle for 12 weeks

Berdazimer Gel Efficacious, Safe for Molluscum Contagiosum

The estimated annual costs were $846 million for cutaneous warts for 2019 in the United States, and costs for anogenital warts were $127 million, according to a research letter published online April 27 in
 
 JAMA Dermatology
 
 .




 Ronald Berna, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues evaluated annual health care utilization and costs associated with common cutaneous and anogenital wart treatments in a retrospective cohort study using the deidentified Optum Clinformatics Database.




 On average, for each year from 2017 through 2019, 263,070 individuals with cutaneous warts (mean age, 44 years; 52 percent female) and 28,516 with anogenital warts (mean age, 43 years; 40.7 percent female) were captured. The researchers found that 64.2, 1.8, and 2.2 percent of individuals with cutaneous warts were treated with lesional destruction, intralesional injection, and prescription topical medications, respectively. For anogenital warts, 35.3, 0.6, and 16.5 percent were treated with lesional destruction, intralesional injection, and prescription topical medications, respectively. For 2019, the annual costs were estimated at $846 million and $127 million for cutaneous and anogenital warts, respectively. The per-patient costs were estimated at $288.28 and $431.47 for cutaneous and anogenital warts, respectively.




 "Understanding health care utilization for warts provides useful information for anticipatory guidance (e.g., expected number of treatments) and insight into the burden of disease," the authors write.




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2791589" target="_blank">
 Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
 
 </a>




 <a href="https://consumer.healthday.com/u/physiciansbriefingstaff">
 <img alt="HealthDay" src="https://assets.rbl.ms/23636171/origin.png" style="max-width: 150px;"/>
 </a>




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2791589" target="_blank">
 </a>

Per-patient costs for evaluation and management estimated at $288.28 for cutaneous warts and $431.47 for anogenital warts in 2019

Annual Costs Estimated for Wart Treatment in the U.S. for 2015-2017

For patients with molluscum contagiosum (MC), topical berdazimer gel 10.3 percent is associated with a significant reduction in lesion count by four weeks, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, held from March 25 to 29 in Boston.




 John C. Browning, M.D., from Texas Dermatology in San Antonio, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, randomized, vehicle-controlled trial to examine the efficacy and safety of berdazimer 10.3 percent for the treatment of MC in 891 participants. A total of 447 and 444 patients with three to 70 raised and palpable molluscum lesions were randomly assigned to vehicle or berdazimer, respectively, for 12 weeks.




 The researchers found that significantly more patients receiving berdazimer had complete clearance of all lesions by week 4 (7.2 versus 3.6 percent), week 8 (19.6 versus 11.6 percent), and week 12 (32.4 versus 19.7 percent). At least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) occurred in 23.0 and 43.0 percent of patients receiving vehicle and berdazimer, respectively; 0.7 and 4.1 percent of patients, respectively, had at least one TEAE leading to study drug discontinuation. Application site pain and erythema were the most common TEAEs; pain was mostly transient. Erythema was the most frequent local skin reaction and occurred more often in berdazimer-treated patients.




 "In B-SIMPLE4, berdazimer 10.3 percent once-daily treatment, MC showed lesion count reduction by four weeks, with continuous improvement over time," the authors write.




 Several authors disclosed financial ties to Novan, which manufactures berdazimer and funded the study.




 <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.aad.org/member/meetings-education/am22" target="_blank">
 More Information
 </a>

Lesion reduction seen by week 4, with continuous improvement over time; treatment-emergent adverse events mainly mild

Warts And Molluscum Condition Center

Featured in Warts And Molluscum

Any tips on how to reduce the risk of ring warts?

Warts And Molluscum News & Research