Photodynamic therapy with green light for the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus - Preliminary results

Introduction: The standard treatment for lichen sclerosus (LS) is symptomatic and is primarily based on the chronic use of corticosteroids, sometimes resulting in unsatisfactory effects. Therefore, other non pharmacological methods are being sought, which are less aggravating for the patient. LS can be treated topically by using photodynamic therapy (PDT) based on 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). Unfortunately, therapy with the red light is often connected with severe local pain during the illumination. Green light can also be characterised by its ability to turn on photodynamic reactions in cells. Materials and methods: The aim of this study was an evaluation into the efficacy and tolerance of 5-ALA-PDT with a green light (540 nm +/- 15 nm) in 11 patients with chronic LS that were characterised by severe itching. The disease lasted from 1.5 to 4 years. All the patients were treated with three sessions of PDT. Results: Following treatment with PDT, a significant improvement of local status, as well as a reduction of the main symptom (pruritus), were observed. No patient complained of severe pain during the sessions that would have required an interruption of irradiation or local application of analgesics. Conclusions: Our preliminary results of using green light in PDT for superficial skin non-oncological lesions are very promising but require further studies. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.