Aminolevulinate Photodynamic Therapy vs. CO₂ Laser Ablation in Immunocompetent Patients with Multiple Actinic Keratoses

Until now, no head-to-head comparison of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and laser ablation for treatment of multiple actinic keratoses (AK) has been available.

In this split-side, randomized, controlled trial, investigators compared PDT and carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser ablation treatment in 20 patients with multiple AKs. The primary outcome measure was AK count 3 months after treatment; secondary outcome measures included p53 and Ki-67 protein expression and optical coherence tomography evaluation of morphology in vivo. After PDT, the number of AKs remaining at 3 months was 20% of the number at baseline; in comparison, the count after treatment with CO₂ ablation was 33.3% of the baseline count. On average, one AK remained in each of the PDT fields…