Fluorouracil cream prior to cryosurgery extends clearing of AKs

A one-week course of treatment with Dermik Laboratories' topical 0.5 percent fluorouracil cream Carac prior to cryosurgery is significantly more effective in reducing actinic keratosis (AK) lesions than cryosurgery alone, according to results of a 12-month clinical trial.

The treatment significantly increases the number of patients who are clear of facial AK lesions at six and 12 months, according to the study's lead author, Joseph Jorizzo, M.D., professor and founding chair, department of dermatology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.

The study results were announced here Friday.

"Although cryosurgery is the most commonly used treatment for the removal of AKs, most patients will develop many new lesions after six months," Dr. Jorizzo says.

The study is the first randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the long-term outcome of cryosurgery and the effect of using the topical treatment prior to the surgery.