Comparative Study of Photodynamic Therapy with Topical Methyl Aminolevulinate versus 5-Aminolevulinic Acid for Facial Actinic Keratosis with Long-Term Follow-Up

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the efficacy, cosmetic outcomes, and adverse events between 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) and methyl aminolevulinate-PDT (MAL-PDT) for actinic keratoses (AKs) in Asian ethnic populations with dark-skin. OBJECTIVE: We retrospectively compared the long-term efficacy, recurrence rates, cosmetic outcomes, and safety of ALA-PDT versus MAL-PDT for facial AKs in Koreans. METHODS: A total of 222 facial AKs in 58 patients were included in this study. A total of 153 lesions (29 patients) were treated with 5-ALA, and 69 lesions (29 patients) with MAL. ALA and MAL creams were applied for 6 hours and 3 hours, respectively; the lesions were then illuminated with a halogen lamp at 150 J/cm(2) for ALA-PDT and a diode lamp at 37 J/cm(2) for MAL-PDT. RESULTS: The complete response rates of ALA-PDT and MAL-PDT were 56.9% and 50.7%, respectively, with no significant difference at 12 months after treatment. No significant difference in recurrence rates was observed between the 2 PDT modalities at either 6 or 12 months after treatment. There was no significant difference in the cosmetic outcomes between the 2 treatment modalities at 12 months after PDT. However, ALA-PDT caused significantly more painful than MAL-PDT (p=0.005). The adverse events were mild to moderate, transient, and self-limiting for both modalities. CONCLUSION: MAL-PDT was similar to ALA-PDT in terms of long-term efficacy, recurrence rates, cosmetic outcomes, and adverse events; however, it was a significantly less painful procedure than ALA-PDT in our study.