Successful treatment of multiple actinic keratoses in organ transplant patients with topical 5% imiquimod: a report of six cases.

BACKGROUND: Nonmelanoma skin cancer represents a significant cause of morbidity in organ transplant recipients (OTRs). Cutaneous malignancies, mainly invasive squamous cell carcinoma and its precursor actinic keratosis (AK), appear approximately 5-10 years after organ transplantation. Impaired wound healing and high recurrence rates in immunocompromised patients treated with destructive therapies such as cryosurgery or topical 5-fluorouracil represent frequently known complications. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of imiqimod 5% in the treatment of AKs in OTRs. METHODS: Six OTRs (two kidney, two heart, one lung and one liver) with extensive AKs were treated with imiquimod 5% cream two to three times weekly in an open-label uncontrolled, nonrandomized pilot study. RESULTS: In five of six patients treated with imiquimod 5% cream all AK lesions were cleared after 12-16 weeks. One patient showed partial response. Local adverse events at the site of application included erythema, oedema and mild erosion. No wound infection or scarring was observed in any of these patients. All graft-related laboratory parameters were stable during and after treatment. Immunosuppressive therapy remained unchanged throughout the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that imiquimod 5% cream may be useful for the local treatment of precancerous AK lesions in OTRs.

Multicenter study of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: In single center studies and case reports, it was shown that pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PEG-DOXO) was effective as second-line therapy for patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of single-agent PEG-DOXO as second-line chemotherapy in patients with CTCL. METHODS: A retrospective, multicenter study was performed evaluating 34 patients (31 male patients and 3 female patients). Twenty-seven patients received PEG-DOXO 20 mg/m(2), 5 patients received PEG-DOXO 20-30 mg/m(2), and 2 patients received PEG-DOXO 40 mg/m(2). PEG-DOXO was administered intravenously every 2 weeks in 6 patients, every 2-3 weeks in 4 patients, and every 4 weeks in 23 patients. One patient received only a single course of PEG-DOXO. Outcomes were evaluated, and adverse effects were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients received at least 1 cycle of PEG-DOXO. Disease was classified as mycosis fungoides in 28 patients, mycosis fungoides with follicular mucinosis in 2 patients, small or medium-sized pleomorphic CTCL in 2 patients, Sèzary syndrome in 1 patient, and CD30 positive CTCL in 1 patient. Fifteen patients achieved a complete response (CR), including patients who achieved a CR and patients who achieved a CR defined by clinical criteria only with no biopsy (CRu), and 15 patients achieved a partial response (PR), resulting in a response rate (CRs, CRus, and PRs) of 88.2%. Two patients dropped out: one patient after a single PEG-DOXO infusion because of Grade 3 capillary leakage syndrome and one patient after two cycles because of a suicide attempt that was not related to treatment or to CTCL. All other patients received at least four cycles of PEG-DOXO. Overall survival was 17.8 months +/- 10.5 months (n = 33 patients), event-free survival was 12.0 months +/- 9.5 months, and disease-free survival was 13.3 +/- 10.5 months (n = 16 patients). Adverse effects were seen in 14 of 34 patients (41.2%); they were temporary and generally mild. Only 6 patients had Grade 3 or 4 adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study provided evidence of high efficacy of PEG-DOXO monotherapy with a low rate of severe adverse effects compared with other chemotherapy protocols in patients with CTCL.

Complete remission of a radio-resistant cutaneous angiosarcoma of the scalp by systemic treatment with liposomal doxorubicin.

We report an 80-year-old man suffering from an angiosarcoma of the scalp. Because of the wide extent of the lesions, surgery was not performed. Instead, the patient was treated with electron-beam radiation. Later, the patient failed to benefit from radiotherapy demonstrated by a local relapse and new malignant lesions. Additionally, a cervical lymph node metastasis appeared for the first time. Subsequently, we successfully administered liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx(R)). Shortly after administration of two cycles the scalp angiosarcoma showed a clear regression. Following six cycles, the patient clinically showed a complete remission of all skin lesions and the cervical lymph node; metastasis was confirmed by histology and fine needle aspiration, respectively. Liposomal and pegylated doxorubicin, a cytostatic drug belonging to the anthracyclines, has already shown to be effective and mostly well tolerated in the therapy of acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related Kaposi's sarcoma and very recently in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, too. Caelyx(R) appears to be a promising alternative to conventional treatment of cutaneous angiosarcoma.