Successful treatment of actinic keratosis with imiquimod cream 5%: a report of six cases

Background Actinic keratoses (AK) are premalignant lesions, which are routinely treated by destructive procedures such as cryotherapy, electrodessication or topical 5-fluorouracil. Objectives The aim of this study is to report six cases of AK treated with a potential new topical therapy, imiquimod. Methods Subjects included in this study had suffered with recurrent AK for between 5 and 16 years. All six men were treated with imiquimod 5% cream three times a week for 6-8 weeks. In the event of a local skin reaction treatment was modified to two times per week. Results All the AK lesions were successfully cleared after treatment with imiquimod cream 5% for 6-8 weeks. Histologically, no apparent signs of persisting AK could be detected, and no recurrences were reported during follow up. Conclusions This study suggests that imiquimod may be useful as a new therapy for the treatment of actinic keratoses.