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Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus: Comparison Between Clobetasol Propionate, Photodynamic Therapy and Low-Intensity Laser

NCT ID: NCT02416531

Last Updated: 2017-10-26

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2015-01-31

Study Completion Date

2017-10-31

Brief Summary

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Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is a lymphocyte-mediated disease of unknown etiology that can cause intense itching as well stenosis, hindering the evacuation and urination. It can also limit the sex life due to severe local pruritus, pain and dyspareunia (pain during sexual intercourse). The standard treatment for this disease is the use of topical corticosteroids to reduce the clinical symptoms and to try to increase disease-free intervals. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a treatment that associates a light radiation with a photosensitizing agent and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) are therapies that can promote effective immunomodulatory responses at the application site by means of photophysical and photochemical phenomena from the molecular to the systemic level, which promote their use in chronic dermatoses. The aim is to study and compare the effects of PDT, LLLT, and topical corticosteroid in VLS evaluating clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and spectroscopic responses. The study will be prospective, randomized, and controlled, in a population of 60 women with histological diagnoses of VLS, enrolled on the outpatient clinic of Genitoscopy Department of the Pérola Byington Hospital in São Paulo. There will be 3 treatments groups: PDT, LLLT and topical corticosteroid, where will be allocated by randomization 20 patients in each one. The clinical course will be monitored by measuring local temperature, itching, clamping (atrophy), and the appearance of the lesion. Histologically, the slides will be classified according to the Hewitt grading and will have the ordering of collagen fibers quantified. Immunohistochemical analysis will be done using the markers IFN-γ, TGF-β, CD4, CD8, IL-1, p53 and Ki-67. Finally, the spectroscopic evaluation will be done by reflectance. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses will be conducted to compare the groups and for associations between different responses.

Detailed Description

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Dosimetry and Experimental Groups: There is no dosimetric protocol established for the treatment of VLS with PDT, nor with LLLT. According to the literature, energy densities range from 9 to 150 J/cm2 and power densities from 40 to 700 mW/cm2, not to mention work that do not report the dosimetry used. As such, the dosimetry to be used in this study is based on a pilot clinical study performed by our group.

The patients will be randomized into 3 groups with 20 patients in each one:

Group GC: Corticosteroid over the whole vulva. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment applied once daily at a dose of 1 g/application (1 g sachets) for 4 weeks.

Group GPDT: Localized photodynamic therapy at 8 points of the vulva. Methylene blue 0.01% intralesional, λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks.

Group GLLLT: Localized low-level laser therapy at 8 points of the vulva. The same parameters as for GPDT, except for the methylene blue, once a week for 4 weeks.

Analyses: The histological and immunohistochemical analyses will be performed before and 30 days after the start of treatment, whereas clinical analysis will be performed weekly on treatment days for the GPDT and GLLLT groups. The control group will not be seen weekly because the standard treatment is performed by the patients themselves, in their own homes, for 30 days as recommended by the International Society for the Study of Vulvar Disease (ISSVD).

After treatments the patients will be followed for verification of recorrence during one year, at minimum.

Conditions

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Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus

Keywords

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Vulvar lichen sclerosus Photodynamic therapy Low-level laser therapy Clobetasol propionate

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Corticosteroid

Clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment applied once daily at a dose of 1 g/application (1 g sachets) for 4 weeks.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Clobetasol propionate

Intervention Type DRUG

Clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment applied once daily at a dose of 1 g/application (1 g sachets) for 4 weeks.

Photodynamic therapy

Methylene blue 0.01% intralesional, λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Photodynamic therapy

Intervention Type RADIATION

Methylene blue 0.01% intralesional, λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks

Low level laser therapy

λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Low level laser therapy

Intervention Type RADIATION

λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks

Interventions

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Clobetasol propionate

Clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment applied once daily at a dose of 1 g/application (1 g sachets) for 4 weeks.

Intervention Type DRUG

Photodynamic therapy

Methylene blue 0.01% intralesional, λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks

Intervention Type RADIATION

Low level laser therapy

λ = 660 ± 10 nm, P = 100 mW, PD = 510 mW/cm2, E = 4 J, ED = 20 J/cm2, t = 40 s, once a week for 4 weeks

Intervention Type RADIATION

Other Intervention Names

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Corticosteroid PDT LLLT

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* adult female patients (aged over 18 years);
* vulvar lichen sclerosus diagnosed histologically;
* normal level of cortisol confirmed by blood test.

Exclusion Criteria

* adult female patients under the age of 18;
* patients with any kind of ongoing cancer and/or AIDS or coagulopathy, pregnant or breastfeeding women;
* patients using corticosteroids, immunosuppressants or anticoagulants;
* patients with renal, hepatic or pulmonary-cardiovascular failure;
* patients who have undergone any kind of organ transplantation in the last three years.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Hospital Perola Byington

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Daniela de Fátima Teixeira da Silva

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Daniela de Fátima Teixeira da Silva

Professor of Postgraduate program in Biophotonics applied to HealthSciences

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Daniela FT Silva, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Nove de Julho

Locations

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Hospital Pérola Byington

São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Site Status

Countries

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Brazil

References

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Oyama N, Chan I, Neill SM, Hamada T, South AP, Wessagowit V, Wojnarowska F, D'Cruz D, Hughes GJ, Black MM, McGrath JA. Autoantibodies to extracellular matrix protein 1 in lichen sclerosus. Lancet. 2003 Jul 12;362(9378):118-23. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13863-9.

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Gambichler T, Kammann S, Tigges C, Kobus S, Skrygan M, Meier JJ, Kohler CU, Scola N, Stucker M, Bechara FG, Altmeyer P, Kreuter A. Cell cycle regulation and proliferation in lichen sclerosus. Regul Pept. 2011 Apr 11;167(2-3):209-14. doi: 10.1016/j.regpep.2011.02.003. Epub 2011 Feb 15.

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Gambichler T, Terras S, Kreuter A, Skrygan M. Altered global methylation and hydroxymethylation status in vulvar lichen sclerosus: further support for epigenetic mechanisms. Br J Dermatol. 2014 Mar;170(3):687-93. doi: 10.1111/bjd.12702.

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Perez-Lopez FR, Ceausu I, Depypere H, Erel CT, Lambrinoudaki I, Rees M, Schenck-Gustafsson K, Tremollieres F, van der Schouw YT, Simoncini T; EMAS, Spanish Menopause society. EMAS clinical guide: vulvar lichen sclerosus in peri and postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 2013 Mar;74(3):279-82. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2012.12.006. Epub 2013 Jan 3.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Brodrick B, Belkin ZR, Goldstein AT. Influence of treatments on prognosis for vulvar lichen sclerosus: facts and controversies. Clin Dermatol. 2013 Nov-Dec;31(6):780-6. doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2013.05.017.

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Terras S, Gambichler T, Moritz RK, Stucker M, Kreuter A. UV-A1 phototherapy vs clobetasol propionate, 0.05%, in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Dermatol. 2014 Jun;150(6):621-7. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2013.7733.

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Romero A, Hernandez-Nunez A, Cordoba-Guijarro S, Arias-Palomo D, Borbujo-Martinez J. Treatment of recalcitrant erosive vulvar lichen sclerosus with photodynamic therapy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007 Aug;57(2 Suppl):S46-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2006.04.005. No abstract available.

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Hillemanns P, Untch M, Prove F, Baumgartner R, Hillemanns M, Korell M. Photodynamic therapy of vulvar lichen sclerosus with 5-aminolevulinic acid. Obstet Gynecol. 1999 Jan;93(1):71-4. doi: 10.1016/s0029-7844(98)00321-4.

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Sotiriou E, Panagiotidou D, Ioannidis D. An open trial of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy for vulvar lichen sclerosus. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2008 Dec;141(2):187-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2008.07.027. Epub 2008 Sep 7. No abstract available.

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Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 28793884 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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Lichen-768168

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id