Efficacy, safety and tolerability of field treatment of actinic keratosis with ingenol mebutate 0.015 % gel: a single center case series

INTRODUCTION: Actinic keratosis (AK) is a cutaneous intraepithelial neoplasm appearing within areas referred as ‘fields of cancerization’. AK can progress to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Treatments that target both clinically visible and subclinical AKs in cancerization fields are able to reduce the risk of malignant progression. Ingenol mebutate gel is a new effective topical therapy for AK, used once daily for 2 or 3 days depending on the location of lesions. CASE DESCRIPTION: Three elderly patients with multiple non-hypertrophic AKs within a contiguous 25-cm(2) treatment area on the face or scalp were treated with ingenol mebutate 0.015 % gel once daily for three consecutive days and followed up over a period of 57 days. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Although individual local responses to treatment varied, all patients had total clearance of AK lesions without any sign of recurrence. In addition, all patients said that they were satisfied with the effectiveness of ingenol mebutate treatment and the aesthetic outcome, and would be prepared to use this agent again to treat AK in the future, if necessary. CONCLUSIONS: These three cases demonstrate that ingenol mebutate 0.015 % gel is effective and well tolerated in a clinical setting, with effective clearance of AK lesions present on the face and scalp, and good patient acceptability.