Immunotherapy With Imiquimod 5% Cream for Eyelid Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma

doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2005.06.057

American Journal of Ophthalmology

Volume 140, Issue 6, December 2005, Pages 1136-1139

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2005.06.057 Get rights and content

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical imiquimod 5% cream for the treatment of eyelid basal cell carcinoma.

Design

Two interventional case reports.

Methods

Imiquimod 5% cream was applied topically once daily, 3 days a week for 8 to 12 weeks, in two patients affected by eyelid nodular basal cell carcinoma. Patients were followed up clinically with slit-lamp examination for evidence of tumor disappearance or recurrence, and local and systemic side effects.

Results

Complete clinical response was obtained in both patients. No severe local side effects were observed. Patients did not show any local recurrence after 1 year.

Conclusions

Topical imiquimod 5% cream seems to be a useful treatment for eyelid nodular basal cell carcinoma in selected cases, but further long-term studies are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of this approach.

References (7)

B.E. Cook et al.
Epidemiologic characteristics and clinical course of patients with malignant eyelid tumours in an incidence cohort in Olmstead County, Minnesota
Ophthalmology
(1999)
R. Malhotra et al.
The Australian Mohs database, part II. Periocular basal cell carcinoma outcome at 5-year follow-up
Ophthalmology
(2004)
K.R. Beutner et al.
Therapeutic response of basal cell carcinoma to the immune response modifier imiquimod 5% cream
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1999)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (38)

Ocular surface complications of local anticancer drugs for treatment of ocular tumors
2021, Ocular Surface
Citation Excerpt :
Conjunctivitis can arise from direct toxicities of anticancer drugs, vehicle and preservative, or can be caused by both allergic and non-allergic inflammation, manifesting as papillary and follicular conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis was observed in 10–100% of eyes administered topical MMC [15,19,21–24,57,97,100–103], 20.4–100% topical 5-FU [35,37,39], 1–57.1% topical IFN-α2b [37,57–59,61,65,66,68,109,110], and 32–95% topical imiquimod [127,128,132,135]. Corneal epitheliopathy, ranging from superficial punctate keratitis to large persistent epithelial defects, can originate from drug toxicities to corneal epithelial cells and limbal epithelial stem cells or from drug-induced immune reactions.
Local chemotherapy is increasingly used, either in combination with surgery or as monotherapy, for management of ocular tumors. Yet many of the local chemotherapeutic agents used for ocular tumors are cytotoxic drugs that are frequently associated with toxicities in normal ocular tissues. Understanding and managing these side effects are important because they affect treatment tolerability, outcome and quality of vision. Herein, we review local anticancer drugs administered for the treatment of ocular tumors, with an emphasis on their toxicities to the ocular surface, adnexa and lacrimal drainage system. We provide the underlying mechanisms and management strategies for the ocular side effects. Recent innovations in anticancer immunotherapy and ocular drug delivery systems also are discussed as new potential therapeutic modalities for alleviation of side effects.
Oncolytic Drugs
2020, Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, Eigtht Edition
This book is intended as a guide to help the clinician determine where a visual problem is a drug-induced ocular side effect. We continually review spontaneous case reports from the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, the World Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the world literature. We have attempted to classify a suspected adverse event with our impression to causality (i.e. certain, probable, unlikely, conditional/unclassified). This chapter discusses oncolytic drugs including antineoplastic drugs.
Ocular Tumors
2019, Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology
Ocular tumors are rare enough that many general ophthalmologists will see only one to a handful during a career. Ocular tumors encompass a wide spectrum of disorders and can be divided into intraocular, conjunctival, eyelid and orbital tumors. The basis of ocular tumor management historically has been biased towards excisional therapy or enucleation, resulting in significant morbidity and loss of vision. More recently treatments have emerged which salvage the globe, do not decrease the survival rate. As we continue to learn more about the etiology, genetics, the molecular pathways of these tumors, there is hope that new therapeutic approaches will evolve. We review the pathology, epidemiology, clinical features, treatment options and future management directions of the most common intraocular tumors.
What's new in eyelid tumors
2017, Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology
Eyelid malignancies represent between 5% and 10% of all skin cancers. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, sebaceous cell carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and melanoma. The gold standard treatment for periocular epithelial malignancies is surgical excision. Given the constraints of the anatomy and function of the eyelids, excision with negative margins and reconstruction can be challenging. In cases of significant tissue invasion or metastasis, complete tumor removal may not be possible. This review examines the management of periocular skin cancer from diagnosis and staging, including the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy, to both surgical and nonsurgical treatment. The development of targeted drug therapy against specific genetic mutations in cutaneous malignancies has allowed for the treatment of specific cancer cells with less systemic toxicity than more traditional treatments.
Photodynamic therapy vs imiquimod
2012, Actas Dermo-Sifiliograficas
La terapia fotodinámica (TFD) y el imiquimod son dos excelentes tratamientos utilizados frecuentemente en Dermatología para las queratosis actínicas, el carcinoma basocelular (CBC) o la enfermedad de Bowen. No existen suficientes estudios comparativos entre ellos para poder extraer buenas conclusiones sobre su eficacia, su tolerancia o sus efectos secundarios y para poder situar a un tratamiento por encima del otro en un tipo de lesión o paciente en concreto. Por otra parte, existen situaciones o indicaciones particulares como la queilitis actínica, los pacientes inmunodeprimidos o los CBC localizados en párpados donde estos dos tratamientos pueden considerarse inicialmente contraindicados; sin embargo, existe suficiente evidencia para poder utilizarlos.
Vamos a realizar una revisión de la TFD y el imiquimod, bajo un punto de vista crítico y comparativo entre ellos, para poder ayudar a responder a la cuestión de qué tratamiento es más recomendable en un paciente determinado.
Photodynamic therapy and imiquimod are highly regarded treatments dermatologists frequently prescribe for actinic keratoses, basal cell carcinoma, and Bowen disease. The scarcity of evidence from comparative trials prevents us from drawing well-founded conclusions about the efficacy, tolerance, and adverse effects of these therapeutic options or to recommend one over the other in any particular type of lesion or patient. On the other hand, in certain conditions (eg, actinic chelitis, immunosuppression, and basal cell carcinoma affecting the eyelids), there is evidence to support the use of photodynamic therapy or imiquimod even though they might initially seem contraindicated. We critically review and compare the use of these 2 treatments in order to suggest which is more appropriate in specific cases.
Topical and Intralesional Immunotherapy for the Management of Skin Cancer in Special Locations: Lips and Eyelids
2023, Cancers

View all citing articles on Scopus

: Supported in part by Department of Surgery Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy.

View full text

Brief reportImmunotherapy With Imiquimod 5% Cream for Eyelid Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma

Purpose

Design

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

J Am Acad Dermatol

Brief report
Immunotherapy With Imiquimod 5% Cream for Eyelid Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma