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A meta‐analysis of treatment effects of imiquimod for basal cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Li MengYa,
Zhang XinPing,
Duan XinBo,
Cao XiaoCi,
Zhao HaiJing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cosmetic dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.626
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1473-2165
pISSN - 1473-2130
DOI - 10.1111/jocd.13119
Subject(s) - imiquimod , basal cell carcinoma , dermatology , meta analysis , basal cell , medicine , oncology , cancer research
Objective We conducted this meta‐analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of imiquimod in comparison with other treatments in patients with BCC. Methods A comprehensive literature search was performed in the database of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Outcomes of interest included histological/composite clearance rate, success rate, complete response rate, tumor free survival, and adverse events. Pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a fixed‐effects or random‐effects model were determined for each outcome. Results A total of 13 studies involving 4256 patients were identified. Imiquimod was associated with significantly higher histological clearance rate (RR = 9.28, 95%CI: 5.56, 15.49; P < .001) and composite clearance rate (RR = 34.24, 95%CI: 21.29, 55.06; P = .001). Moreover, imiquimod also significantly increased complete response rate (RR = 3.15, 95%CI: 1.55, 6.38; P = .001) but had no effect in the success rate (RR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.89, 1.08; P = .727) and probability of tumor‐free survival (RR = 1.15, 95%CI: 0.98, 1.35; P = .088), as compared with other treatments. There were more patients in imiquimod group who developed adverse events than in other treatment group (RR = 2.00, 95%CI: 1.39, 2.88; P < .001). Conclusion This study indicated the effects of imiquimod in improving the histological/composite clearance rates as compared with other treatments. However, its treatment‐related adverse events also should be noticed. Our findings supported that, imiquimod could be used as the first‐choice treatment for BCC.