Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Actinic Cheilitis: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a chronic inflammation of the lip considered an oral, potentially malignant disorder associated with an increased risk of lip squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) development. Controversies surrounding current therapeutic modalities of AC are under debate, and the implications of laser treatment have not been specifically investigated through a systematic review design. The present study aims to evaluate the degree of evidence of laser for the treatment of AC in terms of efficacy and safety. We searched for primary-level studies published before January 2022 through MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and CENTRAL, with no limitation in publication language or date. We evaluated the methodological quality and risk of bias of the studies included using the updated Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias (RoB-2). Twenty studies (512 patients) met our eligibility criteria. Laser therapy showed a complete clearance of AC in 92.5% patients, with a maximum recurrence rate of 21.43%, and a very low frequency of malignant transformation to SCC (detected in only 3/20 studies analyzed). In addition, cosmetic outcomes and patient satisfaction were described as excellent. In conclusion, our findings indicate that laser therapy is a high efficacy approach to AC.

Combination of CO2 laser therapy and pulsed dye laser therapy for the treatment of actinic cheilitis

“…To date, in literature there are only studies that use association of PDT and CO 2 laser therapy for the treatment of these conditions. 3,5 We report the case of two male patients, respectively, aged 73 (patient 1) and 79 (patient 2), presented to our hospital for persistent scaly erythematous-ulcerated plaque of the lower lip (Figure 1A,B) which clinically and dermoscopically suggested the diagnosis of actinic cheilitis. One of them referred to had relapsed after being treated at another center with CO 2 laser only.…”

“…Vaporization of intracellular water induced by CO 2 laser acts by local ablation of abnormal epithelium with a good hemostasis of the adjacent structures. 5 FPDL, by emitting a 595 nm wavelength, targets hemoglobin chromophore of vascular structures and may prevent scar hypertrophy. 6 We could confirm that this combined approach is promising, not only for the proved efficacy and good aesthetic outcome, but also for the mini-…”

Health-related quality of life and associated factors among non-melanoma skin cancer patients: a cross-sectional study

“…Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) accounts for about 95% of skin cancers, mainly including basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), extramammary Paget disease (EMPD), and Bowen's disease (2). Over the past decade, the incidence of NMSC has been increasing worldwide to approximately 50-100% (3)(4)(5). A survey showed that the incidence of NMSC in people over 60 years old was 0.64% in China in 2013 (6).…”