STUDY
Treatment of Undifferentiated Vulvar Intraepithelial
Neoplasia With 5% Imiquimod Cream
A Prospective Study of 12 Cases
Jeanne Wendling, MD; Philippe Saiag, MD, PhD; Sophie Berville-Levy, MD;
Isabelle Bourgault-Villada, MD, PhD; Thierry Clerici, MD; Micheline Moyal-Barracco, MD
Objective: To assess the efficacy of 5% imiquimod cream
on undifferentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN),
a disease caused by high-risk human papillomavirus.
Design: Prospective, uncontrolled study.
Setting: University hospital vulvar clinic.
Patients: Twelve consecutive patients treated with 5%
imiquimod cream for undifferentiated VIN between March
1, 1999, and May 31, 2001.
Intervention: Self-application of 5% imiquimod cream,
initially 3 times a week, then adjusted according to tolerance, for up to 7 months according to clinical response.
Main Outcome Measures: Therapeutic response, clinically assessed by successive photographs and histologically confirmed for complete responders, was scored as
complete, partial (ⱖ50% decrease in lesion size), or failure. Tolerance was evaluated at each visit.
V
From the Service de
Dermatologie Générale et
Oncologique (Drs Wendling,
Saiag, Berville-Levy,
Bourgault-Villada, and
Moyal-Barracco) and Service
d’Anatomopathologie
(Dr Clerici), Hôpital
Ambroise-Paré, Assistance
Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris,
Université Versailles
Saint-Quentin en Yvelines,
Boulogne, France. The authors
have no relevant financial
interest in this article.
Results: A total of 3, 4, and 5 patients achieved complete response, partial response (ⱖ75% reduction in lesion size for all such cases), and failure, respectively. Mean
duration of treatment was 3.6 months (37.3 applications), 5.0 months (50.7 applications), and 3.4 months
(25.2 applications) for complete responders, partial responders, and failures, respectively. Follow-up after treatment was 5 to 18, 14 to 32, and 2 to 28 months, respectively, with 1 partial responder lost to long-term followup. No patient developed invasive carcinoma. All but 2
patients experienced vulvar discomfort, resulting in treatment withdrawal for 3. Two patients had flulike symptoms.
Conclusions: Imiquimod cream could be a therapeutic
option for undifferentiated VIN. Although poorly tolerated, this self-applied treatment could spare patients, either
totally or partially, the classic painful and sometimes mutilating treatments of VIN. Controlled, randomized studies are needed to evaluate its efficacy and tolerance.
Arch Dermatol. 2004;140:1220-1224
ULVAR INTRAEPITHELIAL
neoplasia (VIN) is an uncommon condition, but its
annual incidence (approximately 1.8 new cases
per 100 000 women) has increased during the past 2 decades.1 Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, also described as highgrade VIN or VIN 2-3, is divided into 2
categories2: undifferentiated VIN, which
is defined by full-thickness cytologic and
architectural epithelial atypias, and differentiated VIN, which is characterized by
cytologic and architectural atypias confined to the basal layers of the epithelium. Differentiated VIN mainly affects
postmenopausal women, does not usually contain human papillomavirus (HPV)
DNA sequences, and is frequently associated with an inflammatory condition (lichen sclerosus or lichen planus). A strong
link has been documented between dif-
(REPRINTED) ARCH DERMATOL / VOL 140, OCT 2004
1220
ferentiated VIN and HPV-negative vulvar
carcinoma.2 In one series,3 58% of the patients with differentiated VIN had prior or
synchronous, invasive, keratinizing, vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or developed it subsequently. In contrast to differentiated VIN, undifferentiated VIN
predominantly affects women in their 30s
and 40s and is associated with high-risk
HPV types, mainly HPV-16. It has also
been termed vulvar carcinoma in situ, vulvar atypia, bowenoid papulosis, Bowen disease, and erythroplasia of Queyrat.
The last 2 entities usually designate
monofocal lesions that occur in patients
older than 50 years as opposed to the most
frequently encountered bowenoid papulosis, which applies to multifocal pseudocondylomatous lesions that occur in
younger patients. Only 3% to 10% of the
patients treated for undifferentiated VIN
subsequently develop invasive SCC of the
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vulva.2 Current treatments for undifferentiated VIN consist of physical destruction of the lesions by partial vulvectomy, cryotherapy, laser vaporization, or electrocoagulation. These painful, sometimes mutilating, treatments
do not protect the patients from recurrences, which occur in 12% to 58% of women after treatment.4-6
Imiquimod, an imidazoquinoline amine, is an immune-response modifier that induces monocytes and macrophages to produce interferon-␣ and other cytokines (interleukins 1, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and tumor necrosis factor
␣). It inhibits viral replication and promotes stronger cellmediated immune responses.7 Self-administered 5% imiquimod cream (Aldara; Laboratoire 3M Santé, Division
3M Pharma, Cergy-Pontoise, France) is currently approved for treating anogenital warts (AGWs), a condition related to low-risk HPV infection, with complete responses achieved in 35% to 52% of immunocompetent
patients.8,9 In addition, phase 2 studies have shown that
5% imiquimod cream can be an effective treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma, actinic keratoses, and extragenital Bowen disease.10,11
We postulated that 5% imiquimod cream could represent a conservative alternative to the current destructive treatments of undifferentiated VIN, both because this
condition is HPV related and because it carries a low risk
of invasive SCC. Therefore, it was acceptable to postpone the classic destructive treatment of the lesions until after failure or partial response to 5% imiquimod cream.
METHODS
From March 1, 1999, to May 31, 2001, 5% imiquimod cream
was prospectively prescribed to all patients with histologically
confirmed, noninvasive, undifferentiated VIN who consulted
the vulvar clinic of our university hospital. During that period, 3 other patients with thick, monofocal, erythroplastic lesions were treated surgically, because we were not sure that the
focal biopsy findings excluded SCC. The study followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. All patients gave
informed oral consent.
The initial evaluation consisted of an inspection of the vulva
and the anal margin, first with the naked eye and then with a
magnifying lens (original magnification ⫻2), followed by a detailed, written description of the lesions, photographs, and drawn
diagrams. Because of its lack of sensitivity and specificity, the
acetic acid test was not used. Biopsy specimens were obtained
from all ulcerated, leukoplastic, thick, and infiltrated areas before treatment to exclude invasive SCC. All patients who had
not had a Papanicolaou smear during the preceding year were
advised to have one performed by their gynecologist. Patients
with lesions of the anal margin underwent anoscopy. The diagnosis of undifferentiated VIN was made based on histologic
examination of the biopsy specimens by an experienced pathologist (T.C.). The women were offered HPV typing by polymerase chain reaction performed on a biopsy specimen of a representative lesion. Patients were instructed to apply 5%
imiquimod cream (each dose of 12.5 mg supplied in individual packets) 3 times a week overnight, as recommended for
the treatment of external genital warts. The areas involved by
the VIN were shown to the patient using a mirror. She was then
instructed to apply the cream on these specific areas with the
fingers. When the lesions involved more than 50% of the surface of the vulvar mucosa, the patient was told to apply 1 complete packet of cream. In case of less extended lesions, she was
instructed to apply a small quantity of cream. In these latter
(REPRINTED) ARCH DERMATOL / VOL 140, OCT 2004
1221
patients, we did not quantify the amount of cream applied. The
cream was applied at bedtime and was removed by washing with
water and a gentle soap in the morning. The patient was asked
neither to wash nor to have sexual intercourse during the time
the cream was in contact with the mucosa. The frequency of
the applications was adapted as a function of the tolerance to
the cream.
Follow-up evaluations consisted of physical examination
of the vulva, with detailed description of the lesions, photographs, and drawn diagrams made by 2 experienced physicians (M.M.-B., S.B.-L.). The number of applications, the duration of treatment, and tolerance of the cream were also
recorded. Responses were evaluated clinically monthly, and 2
authors (J.W., M.M.-B.) reviewed successive photographs after completion of the study. A complete response was defined
as histologically confirmed complete disappearance of the lesions. Partial response was defined as decrease of 50% or more
in the lesion size, whereas a decrease of less than 50% of lesion size or progression was considered a failure. At the end of
treatment, patients returned to usual follow-up and treatments by the same physicians.
RESULTS
Twelve consecutive patients fulfilled our criteria for inclusion (Table 1). Their ages ranged from 27 to 53 years
(mean age, 41.4 years). Patients 6, 7, and 8 tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 1 and were
undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
for more than 1 year with satisfactory responses (CD4
lymphocyte count of ⬎350/µL, no detectable HIV-1 RNA
in the serum for 2 of these patients, and 9000 copies/mL
of plasma for the third). The VIN was recurrent in 8 patients. Four patients had histories of cervical intraepithelial neoplasias, and 1 had previously undergone surgery for anal intraepithelial neoplasia. All 12 patients had
normal Papanicolaou smear results within the year preceding the 5% imquimod cream treatment. Seven of 12
patients had multifocal lesions, which involved more than
50% of the vulvar mucosa in 3 of them. In 5 women, the
lesions were monofocal. Lesions were predominantly pink
papules or macules. Patient 6 had a typical bowenoid
papulosis. Ten patients underwent an additional biopsy
for HPV testing: HPV-16 was found in 9 patients and
HPV-33 in 1.
Five percent imiquimod cream led to 3 complete responses, 4 partial responses, and 5 failures. None of the
lesions progressed to invasive SCC. Patients 1, 2, and 3,
who experienced biopsy-confirmed complete response
and were not immunocompromised, initially had limited macular or papular pink lesions that involved less
than 20% of the vulvar mucosa surface. Patients 2 and 3
had recurrent VIN. Imiquimod had been applied for a
mean duration of 3.7 months (mean number of applications, 37.3). The HPV was no longer detected in a new
biopsy specimen at the site of the pretreatment lesions
in patient 1. Persistent HPV infection was not sought in
the 2 other complete responders. No recurrence was observed during a mean follow-up of 9.7 months after the
end of the treatment.
Patients 4 to 7 experienced partial response, with
regression of more than 75% of the lesion area in all of
them. Their lesions at inclusion were polymorphous:
macular, papular, or warty; pink or pigmented; multifoWWW.ARCHDERMATOL.COM
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Table 1. Main Characteristics of the 12 VIN Patients
Patient No./
Age, y/
HIV Status
1/51/−
2/44/−
3/53/−
4/27/−
5/40/−
6/39/+
7/40/+
8/40/+
9/32/−
10/47/−
11/40/−
12/44/−
Clinical Features
of the Lesions
No. of
Months
Follow-up
Recurrent Undergoing
No. of
After
VIN
Treatment Applications Response Treatment, mo
Location of VIN (% of the
Vulvar Mucosa Involved)
Pink; macular
Multifocal (⬍20); fourchette,
posterior vestibule, anal margin
Pink; papular or verrucous
Multifocal (⬍20); labia minora
Pink; macular
Monofocal (⬍20); fourchette
Pink or pigmented; papular
Monofocal (⬍20); left labium
minus, posterior vestibule,
fourchette
Pink; papular or verrucous
Monofocal (20-50); left labium
minus
Pigmented; papular
Multifocal (⬍20); labia majora,
fourchette, right labium minus,
perineum, anal margin
Pink; macular or papular
Multifocal (20-50); clitoris, labia
majora and minora, perineum
anal margin
Pink, white, or pigmented;
Multifocal (⬎50); labia majora
papular, macular, or verrucous
and minora, perineum anal
margin
Pink or pigmented; macular or
Multifocal (⬎50); labia majora
papular
and minora, perineum, anal
margin
Pink; verrucous
Monofocal (⬍20); right labia
minora and majora, fourchette
Pink or white; verrucous
Multifocal (⬎50); labia minora
and majora, anal margin
Pink, white, or pigmented;
Monofocal (30); left labium minus
papular
No
4
28
Complete
18
Yes
Yes
No
3
4
6
36
48
41
Complete
Complete
Partial
6
5
14
Yes
7
78
Partial
LFU
No
6
72
Partial
15
Yes
1
12
Partial
32
Yes
3
24
Failure
13
Yes
3
36
Failure
28
No
3
36
Failure
2 Then LFU
Yes
5
12
Failure
14
Yes
3
18
Failure
11
Abbreviations: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; LFU, lost to follow-up; VIN, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia.
cal or monofocal; and widespread or limited. Patients 5
and 7 had recurrent VIN, and patients 6 and 7 were HIV
positive. Imiquimod had been applied for 1 to 7 months
(mean duration, 5.0 months; mean number of applications, 50.7). Patient 5 was lost to follow-up after the end
of the treatment. For the 3 others, mean follow-up was
20.3 months. Patient 4 underwent laser vaporization at
the end of treatment, and the 2 others did not experience progression during follow-up.
The remaining 5 women experienced treatment failure. Three of them had recurrent widespread lesions that
involved more than 50% of the vulvar mucosa. Patient 8
was HIV positive, with a CD4 T-lymphocyte count of 600/
µL. These 5 women in whom the treatment failed had
applied imiquimod for a mean duration of 3.4 months,
with a low mean number of applications (25.2) because
of either premature withdrawal for inefficacy or intolerance. Patient 10, whose lesions involved less than 20%
of the vulvar mucosa, underwent excision of the remaining lesions but was lost to follow-up 2 months later. The
mean duration of follow-up was 16.5 months for the remaining patients. No progression to invasive SCC was
observed.
Ten of the 12 patients experienced local adverse effects: itching (6/12), burning (8/12), or vulvar erosions
(7/12). Patients 7, 8, and 12 stopped using imiquimod
because of the local adverse effects. Patients 1 and 11 experienced flulike symptoms (fever, myalgia, and chills)
similar to those observed with subcutaneous interferon.
These symptoms appeared 8 to 12 hours after every topi(REPRINTED) ARCH DERMATOL / VOL 140, OCT 2004
1222
cal application and disappeared within 1 hour with
paracetamol or within 16 hours without any treatment.
Patient 1 had a monofocal VIN that involved less than
20% of the vulvar mucosa, and patient 11 had an extensive VIN that involved almost the entire surface of the
vulvar mucosa; both had superficial topical ulcers. The
flulike symptoms decreased after 5 or 6 applications. Patient 8, who was HIV positive, developed cytolytic hepatitis during the treatment. This hepatitis relapsed after
the end of the imiquimod treatment and was eventually
attributed to HAART.
COMMENT
Seven of 12 patients with undifferentiated VIN treated
with 5% imiquimod cream experienced either complete remission or partial remission. In the patients
who experienced partial remission (initially defined as
a reduction of ⬎50% in lesion size), the decrease in
lesion size was at least 75%. Imiquimod could be a
valid alternative to the classic destructive treatment
methods, because it can be self-applied by the patients
and, theoretically, because it represents an immunologic approach to the management of this HPVassociated condition. Indeed, conventional treatments
of undifferentiated VIN are painful and sometimes
mutilating, and recurrences frequently occur.5 Considering the low risk of transformation of undifferentiated VIN into SCC, the cost of conventional treatments most frequently exceeds their benefit.
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Table 2. Imiquimod for Treatment of VIN: Review of the Literature
No. of Responses
Source
van Seters et al,18 2002
Jayne and Kaufman,17
2002
Todd et al,16 2002
Petrow et al,15 2001
Diaz-Arrastia et al,14
2001
Davis et al,13 2000
Study Type
No. of
No. of
Partial (Regression
Failure Recurrences After
Mean Follow-up
Patients Complete ⱖ50% of the Lesion[s]) and LFU Complete Response After Treatment, mo
Prospective, uncontrolled
Retrospective
15
13
4
8
9
4*
2
1
NS
NS
Prospective, uncontrolled
Case report
Retrospective
15
1
4
3
1
2
1
11
1
1
3 (at 5 mo)
None
1 (at 15 mo)
5
18
31
4
4
0
0
2 (at 12 mo)
12
Case reports
NS
5.5
Abbreviations: LFU, lost to follow-up; NS, not specified; VIN, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia.
*In this study, partial response was defined as at least 75% regression of the lesions.
Our study included only 12 patients and was uncontrolled. However, it was prospective and used strict
criteria to evaluate response to treatment. This study provides additional information about the efficacy and tolerance of imiquimod in undifferentiated VIN. Only 1 of
7 patients (patient 6) who responded to treatment, either
completely or partially, had multifocal, pigmented, papular lesions, a clinical form of VIN for which spontaneous regression has been reported.12 Therefore, we favor
the hypothesis that our patients’ good outcomes were more
likely due to the treatment than to spontaneous regression of the lesions.
So far, to our knowledge, 6 studies concerning the
treatment of VIN with self-applied 5% imiquimod cream
have been published (Table 2).13-18 These studies, either
case reports or uncontrolled trials, included in total 52
patients. Twenty-two (42%) of them achieved complete
remission, 15 (29%) achieved partial remission, and 15
(29%) were deemed treatment failures or were lost to follow-up. Our findings are in agreement with those results, although no definitive conclusion can yet be drawn,
because all these studies are uncontrolled and each includes no more than 15 patients. It is worth noting that,
as opposed to our study, none of the previously published studies specified whether the VIN treated with imiquimod were differentiated or undifferentiated. Indeed,
patients with differentiated VIN could have been included in those studies and that form of VIN could respond to imiquimod in a different way.
The response in the 3 HIV-positive patients (all 3
undergoing HAART and with a CD4 T-lymphocyte count
of ⬎350/µL) did not seem different from that obtained
in the HIV-negative population, although the number is
too small to draw a definitive conclusion.
Involvement of less than 50% of the vulvar mucosa
might be predictive of a good response to imiquimod treatment. Indeed, our 7 patients who responded to this treatment had lesions that involved less than 50% of the vulvar mucosa, whereas therapy failed for our 3 patients with
lesions that involved larger areas. In contrast, DiazArrastia et al14 reported that their 2 patients with “extensive” VIN achieved complete remission. However, the
authors did not fully define the term extensive. Todd et
al,16 Jayne and Kaufman,17 and van Seters et al18 also did
not specify the extent of the lesions in their patients. In
(REPRINTED) ARCH DERMATOL / VOL 140, OCT 2004
1223
future studies, response to treatment should be assessed
according to the vulvar area initially involved. However, it remains difficult to measure the area of multifocal lesions, and a feasible and reproducible method still
needs to be validated. In our study, VINs that responded to the treatment were almost equally distributed between monofocal and multifocal lesions and among
papular, macular, and verrucous forms. In the absence
of a validated clinical classification of VIN, an analysis
of the response to imiquimod according to the morphologic features of the lesions would not be reliable.
The VIN recurrence rates following partial vulvectomy or carbon dioxide laser vaporization ranged from
12% to 58%.4-6 None of our 3 patients who obtained complete remission experienced a recurrence of the disease
(follow-up range, 5-18 months). In the published studies on imiquimod-treated VIN, follow-up for recurrence
after complete remission was performed in only 10 of 52
patients (Table 2).13-16 Additional studies are needed to
determine if, compared with other treatments, imiquimod reduces the recurrence rate of undifferentiated
VIN as observed in the treatment of AGWs. Indeed, according to the literature, recurrence rates of AGWs treated
with 5% imiquimod vary from 13% to 19%,19,20 whereas
recurrence rates of those treated with podophyllin vary
from 30% to 70% and from 58% to 70% with topical fluorouracil.21
Local tolerance was poor in our study, as in the published reports, with burning, itching, and/or ulcers described. Patients frequently either stopped treatment or
applied the cream less often. These results are in agreement with those of Todd et al,16 who reported that 11 of
the 13 patients whom they followed up (2 patients were
lost to follow-up) developed local adverse effects. In the
other published studies, topical intolerance was frequently reported but rarely led to treatment withdrawal. Local intolerance is a well-known adverse effect
of treating AGWs with 5% imiquimod cream. In published controlled trials, erosions occurred in 10% to 58%
of the patients,19,20 and treatment withdrawal because of
adverse effects ranged from 1% to 5%.8 Additional studies should determine whether imiquimod is more irritating in the treatment of VIN than in the treatment of
AGWs. Indeed, the tolerance of imiquimod could be related to the type of condition treated. Although there are
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no controlled studies about this subject, to our knowledge, it seems that topical irritation is more frequently
observed in imiquimod-treated actinic keratosis (16% to
53% of severe reactions requiring a rest period)22 and basal
cell carcinomas (13% of severe local reactions leading to
treatment withdrawal)23 than in imiquimod-treated genital warts. Because of the high rate of local irritation in
this study, we now start treatment at a lower frequency
(once a week) and then adapt the regimen to local tolerance. Another way to improve local tolerance could be
to shorten the duration of each application (⬍6 hours)
and reduce the quantity of cream applied.
Flulike symptoms, similar to those reported during interferon therapy, occurred in 2 of our patients and
had previously been observed in a phase 1 clinical trial
of oral imiquimod in patients with refractory cancer.24
As far as topical treatment is concerned, flulike symptoms did not occur with a significant frequency in the
controlled trials concerning AGWs.9 Among the studies
concerning VIN treatment with imiquimod, only Todd
et al16 mentioned flulike symptoms in 2 of the 13 patients whom they followed up. These symptoms could
result from imiquimod-induced cytokine release by responding cells within the lesion25 and/or in the bloodstream. This flulike syndrome did not seem to be associated with the extent of the lesion or the presence of
particularly severe ulcerations.
In conclusion, 5% imiquimod cream was completely or more than 75% effective in 7 of 12 patients with
undifferentiated VIN. These results, which are in agreement with most of the published data, support the hypothesis that imiquimod could be a therapeutic option
for VIN, provided that previous biopsy specimens excluded the presence of SCC. However, additional controlled studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of this
treatment, to identify factors predictive of therapeutic response, and to decide whether imiquimod could be prescribed as conservative first-line treatment for undifferentiated VIN.
Accepted for publication May 17, 2004.
This study was presented in part at the Journées Dermatologiques de Paris; December 6, 2001; Paris, France.
We thank Janet Jacobson, BS, and Luis Perez, PhD, for
editing our English; Eric Julian, PhD, for the HPV typing;
and Bernard-Jean Paniel, MD, for providing surgical or laser treatment to the patients in whom imiquimod treatment
failed.
Correspondence: Micheline Moyal-Barracco, MD, Service de Dermatologie Générale et Oncologique, Hôpital Ambroise-Paré, 9 Avenue Charles-de-Gaulle, 92104 Boulogne
CEDEX, France (micheline.moyal-barracco@apr
.ap-hop-paris.fr).
(REPRINTED) ARCH DERMATOL / VOL 140, OCT 2004
1224
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