What is it about?
Even if genital warts is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world, mono-treatment with either various topical creams or physical removal generally have low efficacy. We describe a single case, where a male patient with widespread genital warts on his penis, scrotum and lower abdomen is treated for 7 weeks with immunotherapeutic cream (5% imiquimod), which removed approximately 70% of all warts. A subsequent single localized treatment with a focused ultrasound device optimized for dermatological use was applied to all remaining warts. The focused ultrasound induced a highly accurate and confined thermo-mechanical destruction of cells and virus and initiated a natural combined immunological response and tissue-replacement in the targeted volume. The patient was found to be fully symptom-free at the final control visit 4 months after the initial treatment was started.
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Why is it important?
Conventional treatment of genital warts is generally not very effective, and combinational treatments with both topicals and physical methods are therefore accepted as a necessity to obtain full resolution of the condition within a reasonable timeframe. Conventional removal by lasers or electrocautery, which are the typical physical methods used in dermatological clinics, generate fumes and aerosols, that can potentially transfer viral particles into the nose, throat, or larynx of the medical team. This may eventually cause cancer. We demonstrate a fully efficient treatment path with an initial treatment with topical cream followed by a simple single localized treatment with focused ultrasound. The focused ultrasound treatment does not generate any fumes or aerosols, and risks for transferring virus from patient to operator are thus effectively eliminated.
Perspectives
We demonstrate a new treatment modality for efficient removal of genital warts without subjecting the medical team to risks of contracting viral infections. The full efficacy points not only to a new method for treating the world’s most common sexually transmitted disease, but also to other interesting dermatological applications of focused ultrasound combined with immunotherapy, e.g. in skin cancers and infections of the skin.
Mr Torsten Bove
TOOsonix A/S
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Treatment of Condylomata Acuminata Using a New Non-Vapor-Generating Focused Ultrasound Method following Imiquimod 5% Cream, Case Reports in Dermatology, October 2022, Karger Publishers,
DOI: 10.1159/000525896.
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