title: Bath-water PUVA therapy with 8-methoxypsoralen in mycosis fungoides.
abstract: PUVA therapy is widely used for early stage mycosis fungoides. While the efficacy of PUVA with oral 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) is well documented, the use of its topical variation, bath-water PUVA therapy with 8-MOP has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of 8-MOP bath-water PUVA therapy in adult patients with early stage mycosis fungoides. We retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of bath-water delivery of 8-MOP (1 mg l(-1)) in 16 patients with early stage mycosis fungoides. In all patients complete response was achieved after a mean duration of 63 days requiring 29 treatments and a mean cumulative UVA dose of 33 J cm(-2). The time to relapse after complete clinical clearance was 45.6 (+/-9.2) weeks. In comparison, oral PUVA therapy with 8-MOP resulted in complete response after 64.5 days (25.8 treatments) with a mean relapse-free period of 30 (+/-3.5) weeks. We conclude that bath-water PUVA therapy with 8-MOP is a valuable photo-therapeutic alternative, which should be considered for patients in whom systemic psoralen cannot be used.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. florian.weber@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmuth
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sepp
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fritsch
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001494:Baths; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008730:Methoxsalen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D011701:PUVA Therapy; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D008730:Methoxsalen