Narrowband UVB therapy in the treatment of lichen planus.
BACKGROUND
Recently, UVB lamps with a peak emission around 311 nm have been used successfully for the treatment of many dermatologic diseases known to be treated with psoralen plus UVA (PUVA). Narrowband UVB (NBUVB) radiation causes less erythema and carcinogenicity with lower cumulative doses than PUVA, while the treatment response remains high. Lichen planus (LP) is a cell-mediated immune response of unknown origin.


METHODS
We present our results of NBUVB therapy administered to 10 LP patients. The sessions were administered three to four times weekly with an average cumulative dose of 17.7+/-1.6 J/cm2.


RESULTS
Five patients responded completely, and four were partially responsive at the end of the 30th session. Three of the partially responsive cases responded completely at the 31st, 36th and 51st sessions, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinical improvements observed in our study as well as the potential advantages of NBUVB imply that it is an inevitable treatment alternative for resistant cases of LP.
Saricaoğlu
Hayriye
H
Department of Dermatology, Medical Faculty, University of Uludağ, Görükle, Bursa, Turkey. hayriye@uludag.edu.tr
Karadogan
Serap Köran
SK
Başkan
Emel Bülbül
EB
Tunali
Sükran
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008010:Lichen Planus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011701:PUVA Therapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D017319:Photosensitizing Agents