Topical treatment of actinic keratosis with 3.0% diclofenac in 2.5% hyaluronan gel: review of the literature about the cumulative evidence of its efficacy and safety.

BACKGROUND

Topical 3% diclofenac in 2.5% hyaluronic acid (HA) gel is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug approved for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK). It has been shown to be a safe and effective for treatment of AK on both skin and mucosal lip.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A PubMed search was carried out from 1997 to 2015 using key words in multiple combinations.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Different studies from the literature shown the efficacy and safety of HA in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients, with important impact on preventing field cancerization. In different clinical trials, the product was effective in significantly reducing lesions when applied for 60 or 90 days.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the effectiveness of the treatment with topical 3% diclofenac in 2.5% HA, the patients who achieve the complete clinical response should be adequately educated to continue their photoprotection in order to minimize recurrence of AK.