Ingenol mebutate treatment in actinic keratosis – clinical effectiveness and potential side effects

Introduction Actinic keratosis is a common skin disease that occurs in response to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This problem affects up to 60% of the population over 40 years of age. Actinic keratosis is considered to be a precancerous lesion leading to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The new therapeutic option for the treatment of actinic keratosis is ingenol mebutate gel (0.015%, 0.05%). Aim Retrospective evaluation of response and potential side effects of ingenol mebutate treatment in clinical practice. Material and methods Eight patients with actinic keratosis lesions on the face or scalp self-applied a 0.015% gel for 3 consecutive days on the 25 cm2 marked area. They were assessed at baseline and on day 4, 7, 14 and 57. Results All patients on day 57 presented a complete absence of AK lesions in the area of ingenol mebutate application. No adverse events were observed. Conclusions Our study shows that ingenol mebutate is highly efficacious field treatment for actinic keratosis.