Amelanotic lentigo maligna managed with topical imiquimod as immunotherapy

A quantitative systematic review of the efficacy of imiquimod monotherapy for lentigo maligna and an analysis of factors that affect tumor clearance

“…The most common reason for exclusion was the use of combination therapy of imiquimod with topical tazarotene, laser, or cryotherapy. Some tumors in original studies were not included in the final analysis because of the use of combination therapy (1), 40 because they had been previously published (1), 26 because they had a diagnosis other than LM (1), 44 or because there were dropouts (2). 18,55 The cases spanned from 2000 to 2014, with follow-up time ranging from 0 to 48.6 months.…”

The Use of Imiquimod to Minimize the Surgical Defect When Excising Invasive Malignant Melanoma Surrounded by Extensive Melanoma In Situ, Lentiginous Type

“…From the 16 case reports published involving 31 patients treated with imiquimod, 93.5% were reported to clear LM clinically, but of these, only 74.1% further examined histologically. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] One of these reports involved a patients who appeared to clear his LM clinically and histologically after 6 weeks of treatment but presented with a recurrent lesion 9 months later. 38 Another reported that, during the use of imiquimod for extensive LM, the development of invasive amelanotic melanoma was observed and that the association between these two occurrences is unknown.…”

Melanoma in situ

“…56 Clearance rates with imiquimod vary widely, with some MIS lesions failing to respond at all and others clearing 100% with no evidence of recurrence. [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] Treatment regimens also varied widely, with some using the medication several days a week and others using it only once weekly. Similarly, the treatment period ranged from 4 to 36 weeks.…”