A comparative study of intralesional injection of Candida albicans antigen, bleomycin and 5-fluorouracil for treatment of plane warts

Abstract

Background Several therapeutic modalities for the treatment of verruca plana (VP) are available, but none has achieved complete cure in all cases with associated risk of side effects. Objective To evaluate efficacy and safety of intralesional injection of Candida albicans (C. albican) antigen, bleomycin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in treatment of VP. Methods Sixty patients with VP were randomly divided into three equal groups who were treated using C. albicans antigen, bleomycin or 5- FU injections every 2 weeks till complete clearance of the lesions or for a maximum of four sessions and followed up for additional 8 weeks. Results A statistically significant higher incidence of complete response was achieved with bleomycin (85%) than C. albicans antigen (60%) which was higher than 5-FU (45%) with a significantly less number of required sessions to achieve best results with bleomycin and candida antigen than 5-FU. Conclusions Candida albicans antigen, bleomycin and 5-FU are helpful modalities for treatment of VP. Bleomycin was the most effective, followed by C. albicans antigen then 5-FU (least effective). Single injection site, clearance of distant warts and decreased incidence of new lesion development – in situ or elsewhere – are additional merits of C. albicans immunotherapy. These modalities are cheap with only transient adverse effects.