A study of topical methyl-aminolaevulinate red-light photodynamic therapy in the treatment of actinic keratosis in Chinese patients: a Singaporean experience.

BACKGROUND

The incidence of skin cancers has been increasing in Singapore, owing to the country's location near the equator and its ageing population. Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment method employing light and a topical photosensitizer to treat actinic keratosis (AK). Most published data to date on PDT have been drawn from studies of patient with Fitzpatrick skin phototypes I and II.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of PDT in the treatment of AK in patients with skin phototype IV in Singapore.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of 13 East Asian patients with AK treated with PDT at the National Skin Centre, Singapore, from 2006 to 2013.

RESULTS

The overall clearance rate of AK at 3 months was 81.8% (9 of 11 patients; the other 2 were lost to follow-up). Mild to moderate pain during therapy was a common adverse event.

CONCLUSIONS

PDT is a useful treatment method for AK in East Asian patients with skin phototype IV. Further larger prospective studies will be needed to evaluate its overall efficacy in East Asian patients.