Squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are prevalent conditions that are increasing in incidence worldwide. Many non-excisional treatments are commonly used, but the efficacy of these treatments is not well delineated.
To examine the recurrence rates of SCCIS and SCC treated with non-excisional treatment modalities.
A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed for SCCIS and SCC treated with 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod, electrodessication, curettage, photodynamic therapy, ablative lasers, or cryotherapy.
We included 186 studies describing treatment of 9,336 tumors. The recurrence rates of SCC and SCCIS following electrodessication with curettage (2.0%; 95% CI, 1.1%-3.0%) or cryotherapy with curettage (1.6%; 95% CI, 0.4%-2.8%) were lower than other treatments, such as photodynamic therapy (29.0%; 95% CI, 25.0%-33.0%), 5-fluorouracil (26.6%; 95% CI, 16.9%-36.4%), or imiquimod (16.1%; 95% CI, 10.3%-21.8%).
Limitations include publication bias of mostly observational data and heterogeneity of treatment regimens.
Electrodessication and cryotherapy, in combination with curettage, are more effective than photodynamic therapy, 5-flurouracil, or imiquimod for treating SCCIS and SCC.

Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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