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(Ivanhoe Newswire) A relatively inexpensive cream made from a chemotherapy medication used to treat cancers of the colon, head and neck and pancreas significantly reduced age-related skin damage in 21 healthy volunteers. The medication, Fluorouracil, appears to reduce potentially precancerous skin patches and improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin.
In early studies of cancer patients undergoing treatment with systemic Fluorouracil, clinicians noticed changes in skin appearance, which led to the development of a topical therapy for the treatment of skin lesions that may develop into skin cancer. Dana L. Sachs, M.D., of the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, and colleagues evaluated molecular and clinical changes in the skin of 21 healthy volunteers with actinic keratoses and sun-damaged skin. Participants applied 5 percent Fluorouracil cream to the face twice daily for two weeks. The number of actinic keratoses was significantly reduced following treatment, from an average of 11.6 lesions to an average of 1.5. Clinical evaluations also identified overall improvements in aging-related damage, including decreases in wrinkling, dark skin spots and sallowness (a yellow skin tone).
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"Topical fluorouracil causes epidermal [outer skin layer] injury, which stimulates wound healing and dermal remodeling resulting in improved appearance," the authors write. "The mechanism of topical Fluorouracil in photo-aged skin follows a predictable wound healing pattern . . .reminiscent of that seen with laser treatment of photo-aging." A standard course of therapy may last as long as three weeks, and the ensuing reaction can persist for several more weeks.
Undoubtedly, there will be patients who desire a therapy such as topical Fluorouracil for cosmetic purposes, write the authors, given the relatively low cost of this therapy compared with ablative laser resurfacing."
SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, June 2009
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