Narrowband (311-nm) UV-B Therapy for Small Plaque Parapsoriasis and Early-Stage Mycosis Fungoides

UVB in the management of early stage mycosis fungoides

“…In IA patients CR was achieved in 84 and 89% and with IB patients in 78 and 44% in NB and BB groups, respectively, after a median of 10 weeks, comparable to all previously reported results with skin‐targeted treatments. Overall, total doses of NB UVB needed to achieve CR (19 J/cm 2 ) were comparable to previously reported (16.3–96.7 J/cm 2 ) 15,23,25 …”

“…PUVA has been reported to be more effective than BB UVB for stage I MF patients in only one Italian retrospective study 34 . Such a conclusion could not be drawn from our and previous UVB studies 15,20–25 in comparison to PUVA historical data 9–17 . Deeper penetration of UVA into the skin is considered to be one of the advantages of the PUVA treatment responsible for ‘more complete’ histological improvement.…”

Treatment of small plaque parapsoriasis with narrow-band (311 nm) ultraviolet B: a retrospective study

“…While we used a fixed starting dose of 0.2 J ⁄ cm 2 and fixed increments of 0.1 J ⁄ cm 2 per day, Hofer et al started with 70% of the minimal erythema dose and increased the dose by 20% every week. 15 The mean time until relapse of the disease was similar in both studies, 7 months (range 7-118 weeks) in our study and 6 months (range 2-15 months) in the study by Hofer et al This suggests that early relapses of the disease are the most troublesome shortcoming of NB-UVB therapy for SPP.…”

“…A previous study reported that NB-UVB therapy achieved CR in all patients with SPP (n ¼ 14) and five of six patients with early stage MF. 15 The total dose of NB-UVB required to achieve CR was lower in that study (16.3 J ⁄ cm 2 , range 7.4-36.4 J ⁄ cm 2 ) than in ours. Similarly, fewer treatments were needed (mean 20, range [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

“…15 The total dose of NB-UVB required to achieve CR was lower in that study (16.3 J ⁄ cm 2 , range 7.4-36.4 J ⁄ cm 2 ) than in ours. Similarly, fewer treatments were needed (mean 20, range [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear, but is likely to be due to the different irradiation protocols used in the two studies.…”