Comparison of the efficacy and safety of 0.1% adapalene gel and 0.025% tretinoin cream in the treatment of childhood acanthosis nigricans.

BACKGROUND

There have been few published randomized controlled trials for the treatment of childhood acanthosis nigricans (AN) to date.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of topical 0.1% adapalene gel compared to 0.025% tretinoin cream in the treatment of childhood AN.

METHODS

An 8-week, randomized, split-neck, comparative study between topical 0.1% adapalene gel and 0.025% tretinoin cream for the treatment of neck hyperpigmentation associated with AN was performed. M index measured by a narrowband reflectance spectrophotometer and both investigator's global evaluation (IGE) and parent's global evaluation (PGE) scales were used to evaluate efficacy.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between 0.1% adapalene gel and 0.025% tretinoin cream in the treatment of AN-associated hyperpigmentation (P = 0.56). Mean differences in M indices between week 0 and week 8 of 0.1% adapalene and 0.025% tretinoin treatment were 24.2 ± 7.9% and 23.8 ± 8.3% improvement, respectively. Regarding treatment efficacy, 90.0% and 85.0% of participants had more than 75% improvement in IGE in 0.1% adapalene and 0.025% tretinoin treatment sides, respectively. In addition, 75.0% and 65.0% of participants had more than 75.0% improvement in PGE in 0.1% adapalene and 0.025% tretinoin treatment sides, respectively.

LIMITATIONS: Lack of histopathological evaluations.

CONCLUSIONS

We found no significant difference between topical 0.1% adapalene gel and 0.025% tretinoin in the treatment of AN.