Abstract
BACKGROUND: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used for treatment of malignant and premalignant skin cancers; however, its use in other common cutaneous conditions has been less widely reported.
OBJECTIVE: We investigated the off-label uses of 5-FU beyond malignant and premalignant skin disease.
METHODS: We conducted a literature review searching multiple databases to evaluate the evidence for the off-label uses of 5-FU. The level of evidence was evaluated and selected accordingly listing the studies with the highest level of evidence first using the Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine 2011 guidance.
RESULTS: We found underlying evidence to support the use of 5-FU for a wide range of noncancerous cutaneous indications including scarring (keloid, hypertrophic), pigmentary disorders (vitiligo, idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis), cutaneous infections (viral warts, molluscum contagiosum), inflammatory dermatoses (Darier's disease, Hailey-Hailey disease and sarcoidosis), and cosmetic indications (photoaging, treatment of filler nodules and granulomas).
CONCLUSION: In selected patients, 5-FU can be as effective as more established treatments, with fewer side-effects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Dermatologic Surgery |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | e66-e70 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| ISSN | 1076-0512 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2021 |