Topical granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for the treatment of oral and genital ulcers of patients with Behcet's disease

Background Recurrent and painful ulcers of the oral mucosa and genital skin/mucosa are the most commonly observed manifestations in patients with Behcet's disease (BD). They affect patients' quality of life. Because of the effectiveness of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in wound healing, it may also be useful for the treatment of oral ulcers (OU) and genital ulcers (GU) of BD. Objective We aimed to determine the efficacy of topically applied G-CSF in the treatment of OU and GU of BD. Methods Seven patients with BD diagnosed according to the criteria of the International Study Group for Behcet's Disease were involved in the study. The patients were observed for 3 months before the study, and all occurrences were recorded during this period. Patients were given topical G-CSF for OU (4 x 120 mu g/day, for 5 days) and/or GU (4 x 30 mu g/day, for 5 days) and followed-up for 3 months after treatment. No concurrent disease-specific or immunosuppressive topical or systemic drugs were given during the study period. Results G-CSF treatment decreased the healing time and pain of OU and GU in six of seven patients compared with the pretreatment period. However, the effectiveness of the G-CSF treatment on OU and GU healing time and pain severity did not continue during the post-treatment period. Conclusions G-CSF has beneficial effects on the healing duration and pain severity of OU and GU of patients with BD. However, given the high cost, impractical preparation and inability to cure the disease, G-CSF treatment should be chosen only in selected patients.