Ingenol mebutate useful for treating actinic keratosis

Ingenol mebutate is safe and effective in the treatment of patients with actinic keratosis, in addition to exerting a positive impact on quality of life, as shown in a study.

The study included 440 patients (average age, 73.5 years; 65.9 percent male) who were followed for 12 months. Researchers recorded medical history details, as well as assessed effectiveness, compliance to treatment, quality of life (EQ‐5D‐5L), and treatment satisfaction questionnaire for medication (TSQM‐9) at week 8.

Mean duration of participation in the study was 10 months. Most of the patients had skin types II (n=197; 44.8 percent) and III (n=173; 39.3 percent) according to the Fitzpatrick’s scale for skin type; 33 patients (7.3 percent) had type I, 35 (8.0 percent) had type IV, and three (0.7 percent) had type VI.

A total of 428 patients (97.3 percent) attended the 8-week assessment. Complete clearance occurred in 337 patients (78.7 percent). Additionally, EQ VAS score significantly increased from baseline (p<0.001). TSQM‐9 data showed that patients with complete clearance had significantly higher satisfaction in effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction.

At the 12‐month follow‐up, 323 patients (95.8 percent) retained their clearance status. The complete clearance rate was 42.1 percent in the group of 19 patients who did not apply the ingenol mebutate gel on consecutive days. In comparison, the rate was higher at 80.6 percent in the group of those used the gel on consecutive days. None of the patients developed skin cancer.

While ingenol mebutate stands out for its short treatment course and efficacy in actinic keratitis, the findings underscore that limited adherence to treatment might reduce effectiveness, the researchers said.