WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with keloids, intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (TAC), intralesional bleomycin, and intralesional radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are all effective, with the greatest efficacy seen for TAC, according to a study published online in the November issue of SKIN.

Aarti Singh, from Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla, India, and colleagues compared the efficacy and side effect profiles of intralesional TAC, intralesional bleomycin, and intralesional RFA for management of keloids in a randomized trial. A total of 117 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive TAC, bleomycin, or RFA (groups A, B, and C, respectively); nine patients were lost to follow-up. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) was used to assess treatment efficacy.

The researchers found that compared with baseline, all three groups had significant reductions in POSAS scores. Therapeutic effectiveness was 100, 80.6, and 72.2 percent in groups A, B, and C, respectively. Seventy-two percent of patients in groups A and B and 83.3 percent in Group C had side effects. During the eight-week follow-up after treatment completion, no recurrence was observed.

"TAC emerged as the most effective therapy, followed by bleomycin and RFA. While RFA showed lower efficacy and higher side effects, it holds promise as a noninvasive alternative, particularly with protocol optimization," the authors write. "Future studies exploring combination therapies and longer-term outcomes will help refine individualized keloid treatment strategies."

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