Background: Actinic keratosis (AK) is a premalignant lesion of the skin caused by long-term ultraviolet radiation exposure. Cryotherapy is one of the most common treatment modalities for AK. But, there have been quite a few studies about the therapeutic response of cryotherapy on AK including cure rate, recurrence rate, side effects and etc..
Objectives: To investigate the therapeutic response of cryotherapy on AK in Korean patients.
Methods: We enrolled and assessed 87 AK patients with 104 AK lesions who had pre-and post- standardized cryotherapy (freezing AK lesion with 3-5mm margin and 5-10s freezing time) at 4 months photos at the Pusan National University Hospitals (Busan and Yangsan) from 2010 through 2019.
Results: The final cure rate and recurrence rate at 4 months after cryotherapy were 89.4% and 8.4% respectively. And, the cure rate at 2 months after cryotherapy were 65.3%. In the comparison of demographics, clinical findings and pathologic findings between cure group and non-cure group, AK clinical grade and histopathologic subtype showed a statistical significance. The side effect were various with postinflammatory hypopigmentation (30/104), persistent erythema (18/104), postinflammatory hyperpigmentation on margin (13/104) and scar (15/104).
Conclusion: The result of this study could be useful for the dermatologists who are the main manager of AK treatment.