The use of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of keratoacanthomas

The review is on treatment of keratoacanthomas using photodynamic therapy. The defining characteristic of keratoacanthoma among epithelial tumors is a rapid spontaneous regression in the case of typical keratoacanthoma and long-term persistence, recurrence and common malignant transformation to squamous cell carcinoma in the case of atypical keratoacanthoma. In recent years, photodynamic therapy which is an effective method of treatment of different types of cancer and pre-cancer diseases of the skin including actinic keratosis, Bowen’s disease, basal cell carcinoma, is increasingly used in clinical practice. There are few data for photodynamic therapy in the treatment of keratoacanthoma. The analysis of the literature shows that using of photodynamic therapy in the set of treatment modalities in patients with keratoacanthoma improves the efficacy and reduces the terms of the therapy. In all investigations except one there was complete tumor regression in 100% patients with keratoacanthoma who underwent photodynamic therapy. In one study complete tumor regression was observed in 66.7% of patients with atypical keratoacanthoma after photodynamic therapy. The follow-up of patients in all analyzed studies accounted for at least 2-3 years. During this time none of the patients had evidence for recurrence. This approach has minimal restrictions for application. Thus, photodynamic therapy may become a therapeutic alternative to surgical treatment of keratoacanthoma with good clinical and cosmetic results