Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and risks of topical mitomycin C (MMC) for conjunctival-corneal intraepithelial neoplasia (CCIN).
Design: The study design was a clinical case series of CCIN.
Participants: Seventeen patients, 16 with biopsy-confirmed CCIN and 1 with invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), were included in the study.
Intervention: Patients received topical drops of MMC 0.02% to 0.04% four times daily from 7 to 28 days. Retreatment was done in cases of lesion recurrence.
Main outcome measures: The size of the CCIN before and after the treatment and ocular complications post-MMC application were evaluated.
Results: Ten patients remained disease-free after one course of MMC application. In one case, residual CCIN remained very small without regrowth. In the one patient with invasive SCC and in five patients with CCIN, regrowth occurred within 6 months of the first treatment. After retreatment, invasive SCC and CCIN in an additional two patients were eradicated. In two cases, although the size of the lesions decreased after two and three applications of MMC, regrowth occurred, and the CCIN returned to its original size. In the final case, limited recurrence has occurred and no retreatment has been done. The complications of MMC use included mild-to-moderate conjunctival hyperemia and mild allergy, which resolved after discontinuation of the treatment. Severe pain manifested when treatment was longer than 14 days.
Conclusions: Application of topical MMC is an efficient treatment for most but not all cases of CCIN.