Cryosurgery during topical imiquimod: a successful combination modality for lentigo maligna

Abstract

Cryosurgery during continued topical imiquimod seems to be a promising treatment for lentigo maligna.

Immunocryosurgery for basal cell carcinoma: results of a pilot, prospective, open‐label study of cryosurgery during continued imiquimod application

“…7 The proposed immunocryosurgery has excellent aesthetic outcome and cost-effectiveness similar to surgery. 20 To date, non-surgical modalities are considered as second-line options and are restricted to treatment of early, non-invasive non-melanoma skin cancers.…”

“…12 The present 5% 1-year failure rate of 'immunocryosurgery' corresponds to an at least additive interaction of two modalities with 1-year relapse rates of 25% and 15%, like imiquimod and cryosurgery, respectively; a fact that is in favour of the recently proposed synergistic antineoplastic mechanism underlying this immunocryosurgery regimen. 7 In brief, imiquimod pretreatment may induce a proapoptotic tumour environment, 13 intensifying the immediate destruction of tumour cells during cryosurgery especially at the intermediate-freeze regions. 14 Subsequently, augmented destruction of the vascular tumour bed results from endothelial apoptosis and restriction of tumour neovascularization.…”

Cryosurgery During Imiquimod Cream Treatment (”Immunocryosurgery”) for Bowen’s Disease of the Skin: A Case Series

“…In this study, prompted by the need for alternative treatments of Bowen's disease, we evaluated "immunocryosurgery", i.e. a combination modality of cryosurgery during continuing topical imiquimod ( 10) which has been used successfully to treat basal cell carcinoma and lentigo maligna (11,12).…”

Adjuvant Approaches to Enhance Cryosurgery

“…The current state of the art cryosurgical devices have benefited greatly from these efforts and are used broadly for treatment of cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases [22, 112]. In recent years a new research focus has emerged in cryosurgery that emphasizes on the manipulation of the biologic response of tissues to cryodestruction [39, 83, 98, 100, 113]. The goal of this latest work involves the use of adjuvants to achieve cell destruction (kill zone) as close to the edge of the iceball as possible.…”