Efficacy of a bleomycin microneedle patch for the treatment of warts

Abstract

Warts are a common skin disease caused by infection of the human papilloma virus. Most treatments involving physical destruction of the infected cells, such as cryotherapy and electrocautery, are limited by intense pain, failure, or recurrences. Our aim was to compare the therapeutic effects of a newly developed bleomycin microneedle patch with cryotherapy in the treatment of warts. Forty-two patients with more than two wart lesions were included in the study. The two treatment modalities were randomly applied to different warts on each patient. Treatment efficacy was assessed using the Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) and the Patient's Global Assessment (PaGA). Mean PGA and PaGA scores were not significantly different between cryotherapy and bleomycin microneedle patch treatment. It was also determined that the mean size of all the warts treated with either modality shrank about equally at weeks 8 and 16 after initial treatment. Thus, treatment efficacy of the bleomycin microneedle patch was comparable to that of conventional cryotherapy. According to a visual analogue scale of pain, bleomycin microneedle patch treatment was significantly less painful than cryotherapy (p < .0001). In addition, use of the bleomycin microneedle patch was more tolerable for patients who were reluctant to receive the painful treatment. Thus, the bleomycin microneedle patch can be an effective, convenient, and innovative treatment modality for warts.

Successful clearance of extensive/recalcitrant cutaneous warts by acitretin monotherapy: A case series study

“…For extensive and recalcitrant warts, conventional invasive methods, such as cryotherapy, electrocautery/radiofrequency ablation and laser treatments, usually cause significant pain, blisters and swelling; require multiple repeated treatments and long recovery periods; and have high recurrence rates. This reduces patient compliance and the potential for successful treatment 7‐9 . Moreover, topical treatments focus only on the destruction or removal of visible lesions but are often unable to completely clear subclinical warts 10 .…”

Transdermal patches in dermatology

“…Lee et al reported that an ascorbic acid‐loaded DMN produced an effective anti‐wrinkle effect without skin irritation and sensitization problems (Lee et al, ). Ryu et al claimed that the bleomycin microneedle patch can be an effective treatment modality for warts (Ryu et al, ).…”

“…Some authors put forward that cutaneous microtrauma by micro needling also contributes to rejuvenation effect (Hong et al, 2018). (Ryu et al, 2018).…”

Three-Dimensional (3D) Printed Microneedles for Microencapsulated Cell Extrusion

“…Transdermal drug delivery studies against complex diseases and vaccination include those of Wang, et al [ 2 ] and Ye., Y. et al [ 3 ], who have loaded hyaluronic acid (HA)-based microneedles with anti-PD1 antibody, glucose oxidase (GOx)-encapsulated dextran nanoparticles, and tumor lysate, melanin, respectively, for the transdermal delivery of antitumor immune response-promoting compounds against melanoma; as well as those of Hu, et al [ 4 ], who loaded HA-based microneedles with insulin and GOx-encapsulated polymeric vesicles, and Lahiji, et al [ 5 ], who developed dissolving microneedles encapsulated with Exendin-4 hormone, against types I and II diabetes. A more comprehensive list of diseases that are treated and therapeutic compounds delivered using MN technology is presented in Table S1 [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…A synopsis is presented in Table S4 , with reference to geometries in MN studies presented in Tables S1–S3 . MN structures range over the following spatial configurations: Pointed tip with triangular slope [ 54 ], conical shape [ 2 , 4 , 14 , 55 , 56 ], cylindrical shape [ 57 ], cylindrical body and pointed head [ 45 , 52 , 58 ], tip-beveled triangular cylinder shape [ 34 ], tip-beveled cylinder shape [ 59 , 60 ], pyramidal shape [ 8 , 12 , 61 ], and tetrahedron-shaped [ 62 ]. Based on the studies, these different microneedle shapes and geometries have been shown to breach the stratum corneum layer of human and porcine skin.…”