Abstract
A randomized controlled trial including 601 patients previously showed that the effectiveness of imiquimod and fluorouracil cream were not inferior to methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) in patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma after 1 year of follow-up. We now present the 3-year follow-up results. The probability of tumor-free survival at 3 years post-treatment was 58.0% for MAL-PDT (95% confidence interval [CI]= 47.8-66.9), 79.7% for imiquimod (95% CI= 71.6-85.7), and 68.2% for fluorouracil (95% CI= 58.1-76.3). The hazard ratio for treatment failure comparing imiquimod with MAL-PDT was 0.50 (95% CI= 0.33-0.76, P= 0.001). Comparison of fluorouracil with MAL-PDT and fluorouracil with imiquimod showed hazard ratios of 0.73 (95% CI= 0.51-1.05, P= 0.092) and 0.68 (95% CI= 0.44-1.06, P= 0.091), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed a higher probability of treatment success for imiquimod versus MAL-PDT in all subgroups with the exception of elderly patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma on the lower extremities. In this subgroup, the risk difference in tumor-free survival was 57.6% in favor of MAL-PDT. In conclusion, according to results at 3 years post-treatment, imiquimod is superior and fluorouracil not inferior to MAL-PDT in treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma.
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