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Efficacy, predictors of response, and long-term follow-up in patients with vitiligo treated with narrowband UVB phototherapy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2006.09.004Get rights and content

Background

Narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) phototherapy is considered an accepted therapy for vitiligo.

Objective

We sought to estimate the effectiveness of NB-UVB in patients with vitiligo, identify predictive factors of response, and assess the stability of NB-UVB–induced repigmentation.

Methods

In all, 70 patients with vitiligo were treated twice weekly with NB-UVB.

Results

Cosmetically acceptable (>75%) repigmentation was achieved in 34.4% of patients with lesions on the face and in 7.4% of patients with lesions on the body. Patients with phototypes III to V had a greater chance to achieve greater than 75% repigmentation on the face. Patients who responded in the first month of treatment were more likely to achieve better repigmentation rates. Repigmentation was stable in 14.3% of patients 4 years after cessation of treatment.

Limitations

The study was uncontrolled. Treatment frequency was twice weekly. These results may not be representative of different treatment regimens.

Conclusion

Patients with vitiligo who have lesions on the face, darker phototypes, and early response to treatment have a greater chance to achieve satisfactory repigmentation after NB-UVB phototherapy.

Section snippets

Patients

The study was open and uncontrolled and its protocol was approved by our scientific committee. Patients included in the study had at least 5% total body surface area affected. Patients who had received any UV treatment in the past or any other treatment for vitiligo during the past 6 months were excluded from the study. Patients with segmental vitiligo or a history of spontaneous repigmentation were also excluded. Other exclusion criteria were a history of photosensitivity or skin cancer.

NB-UVB phototherapy

All

Demographic data of patients

A total of 84 patients were recruited. Fourteen of them (16.7%) discontinued treatment after 1 to 8 months for personal reasons and despite showing, all of them, a response analogous to the mean response achieved at that time point by patients who continued the treatment. These patients were excluded from further analysis.

The demographic features of patients who completed the study are presented in Table I. There was no statistically significant difference in demographic data between patients

Discussion

NB-UVB phototherapy is an established treatment for vitiligo. Several studies have been published reporting its efficacy in different populations.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 In the current study, 34.4% of patients with lesions on the face and 7.4% of patients with lesions on the body achieved cosmetically acceptable repigmentation after up to 1.5 years of treatment (P < .0046). Many studies have reported better results for the face in comparison with the body.2, 3, 9, 11, 13

References (14)

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Cited by (0)

Funding sources: None.

Conflicts of interest: None identified.

Presented at the 15th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Rhodes, Greece, on October 4-8, 2006.

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