No abstract

The cutaneous manifestations of mycosis fungoides have been successfully treated in nine patients for 16 to 28 months with oral methoxsalen and subsequent irradiation with longwave ultraviolet light. The efficacy of this therapy was confirmed in one patient, who showed complete clearing of generalized plaques after 1 month (12 treatments) except for a shielded control area which worsened during this period. Methoxsalen photochemotherapy may prove a valuable addition to therapies currently available for mycosis fungoides and may obviate some of the problems associated with conventional management of this disorder.

Extensive psoriasis in 1,308 patients has been treated two or three times a week with oral 8-methoxypsoralen followed by high intensity, long-wave ultraviolet light (PUVA). Excluding 169 patients still under early treatment, psoriasis cleared in 88% and failed to clear in 3%. One percent dropped out due to complications of treatment, and 8% for other reasons. The twice-a-week schedule was superior for patients with lighter skin types. Once a remission was induced, there was no difference in its maintenance when patients were treated once a week, once every other week, or once every third week. Each of these schedules was superior to no maintenance treatment. Immediate side effect of the 45,000 treatments administered in the first 18 months of this study were uncommon, temporary, and generally mild. No clinically significant changes in laboratory screening or eye examinations attributable to PUVA have been uncovered.