Phototherapy: a Review and Update of Treatment Options in Dermatology

Purpose of Review This paper is intended to review common uses of phototherapy in the treatment of dermatologic disease and to highlight recent updates in the field. Recent Findings Phototherapy is effective in the treatment of several dermatologic conditions and offers a safe alternative to systemic treatments. Overall, limited studies on the use of phototherapy have been conducted. However, recent studies have demonstrated superior efficacy of various phototherapy options in comparison with other systemic or topical treatments for diseases such as psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, mycosis fungoides, pityriasis versicolor, and palmoplantar pustulosis. Dermatologic conditions are associated with high disease burden. With multiple treatment options available, phototherapy remains an effective treatment modality in a number of these conditions and often carries a lower side effect profile and lower cost. While studies evaluating the efficacy of phototherapy alone and in combination with various systemic and non-systemic therapies do exist, insufficient studies are available to derive definitive prescriptive treatment guidelines.