WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2025 -- For patients with molluscum contagiosum (MC), intralesional immunotherapy with candida antigen and varicella zoster vaccine (VZV) seems to be safe and effective, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in the Journal of Dermatology.

Mona Elradi, M.D., from Zagazig University in Egypt, and colleagues compared the efficacy of candida antigen and VZV in the treatment of MC in a study involving 48 patients with MC. Participants were randomly assigned to receive biweekly intralesional candida antigen injected at a dose of 0.3 mL/session or biweekly intralesional VZV injection at a dose of 0.1 mL/session (groups A and B), both for a maximum of five sessions.

The researchers found that response was complete, partial, and absent in 50, 37.5, and 12.5 percent in group B, respectively, and in 37.5, 50, and 12.5 percent in group A, respectively, with no statistically significant difference observed between the two groups.

"Intralesional immunotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment modality that appears to have a promising role in the treatment of MC," the authors write. "VZV appears to be a new potential treatment option and must be considered in future studies."