Ablative fractional laser-assisted treatments for keratinocyte carcinomas and its precursors–Clinical review and future perspectives

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

Keratinocyte carcinomas (KC) are the most common malignant human neoplasms. Although surgery and destructive approaches are first-line treatments, topical therapies are commonly used. Due to limited uptake of topical agents across the skin barrier, clearance rates are often sub-optimal. In pre-clinical investigations, ablative fractional laser (AFL)-assisted drug delivery has demonstrated improved uptake of topical drugs commonly used to treat KC. In 22 clinical trials, the effect of AFL-assisted treatments has been investigated for actinic keratosis (AK; n = 14), Bowen's disease (BD; n = 5), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 1), and basal cell carcinoma (n = 7). The most substantial evidence currently exists for AFL-assisted photodynamic therapy for the treatment of AK and BD. AFL improved 12-months follow-up clearance rates of photodynamic therapy from 45.0–51.0% to 78.5–84.8% for AK and from 50.0–55.3% to 87.0–87.5% for BD. AFL-assisted pharmacological therapy is a promising tool for optimizing topical treatments of KC and its precursor lesions. Future developments include AFL-assisted immune activation, changing drug administration route of systemic therapies, and utilizing drug chemo-combinations.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAdvanced Drug Delivery Reviews
Volume153
Pages (from-to)185-194
Number of pages10
ISSN0169-409X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Research areas

  • Ablative fractional laser, Actinic keratoses, Bowen's disease, Combination therapy, Immunotherapy, Laser-assisted drug delivery, Non-melanoma skin cancer, Non-surgical treatment, Photodynamic therapy, Topical delivery

ID: 260197017