The investigators will compare the application of two different creams for the treatment of low-risk skin cancers-superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC) and squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCis). 5-Fluorouracil cream is currently FDA approved for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma and is routinely used by dermatologists across the country and at Boston Medical Center (BMC) for SCCis. The normal treatment regimen is 4 weeks of the 5-fluorouracil cream for both skin cancers. The application of a compounded cream consisting of 1:1 ratio 5-fluorouracil with calcipotriene will be tested. This combination cream has been shown to clear pre-skin cancers called actinic keratoses and prevent future skin cancers from developing. This combination cream for 7-14 days to see if this shorter treatment course provides clearance of the 2 types of skin cancer. This combination cream is successfully used in this manner to treat other subtypes of related skin cancers. This will be a pilot study with The primary endpoint for this pilot randomized single blinded clinical trial will be the response to treatment (yes versus no). The lesions will be assessed clinically for clearance of cancer, as would normally be done and is consistent with how comparable studies have assessed clearance. Participants will be followed closely afterwards for three years with visits at 6 months, which does not vary from standard practice. If the lesions are not clear of cancer or equivocal clinically, the lesions will be re-biopsied and normal standard of care procedure will take place.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
200
Apply the cream to the size of the lesion extending to the 0.5 cm area of skin surrounding the lesion.twice a day for 7 days and the treatment can be extended to 14 days based on evaluation at 7 days.
Apply the cream to the size of their lesion extending to the 0.5 cm area of skin surrounding the lesion twice daily for 28 days.
Boston Medical Center Dermatology Clinic
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGClearance rate of cancer lesions at 3 months
Clearance rate is defined as the percentage of lesions that are free of cancer based on clinical assessments which will be performed by the patient's dermatologist and via photos from a standardized full frontal angle.
Time frame: 3 months
Clearance rate of cancer lesions at 3 years
Clearance rate is defined as the percentage of lesions that are free of cancer based on clinical assessments which will be performed by the patient's dermatologist and via photos from a standardized full frontal angle.
Time frame: 3 years
Percent of participants that experience pain during treatment
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will rate their pain from 1 to 5 where 1=no pain, 2= very mild, 3=mild, 4=moderate (requiring pain medication), 5=severe (requiring pain medication or physician contact). The number of participants with scores of 2 or higher will be divided by all participants.
Time frame: 3 months
Severity of pain during treatment
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will rate their pain from 1 to 5 where 1=no pain, 2= very mild, 3=mild, 4=moderate (requiring pain medication), 5=severe (requiring pain medication or physician contact). Mean pain ratings will be calculated with higher mean scores suggesting more severe pain.
Time frame: 3 months
Percent of participants that experience redness during treatment
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will rate their overall redness from 1 to 5 where 1=no redness, 2= very minimal, 3=minimal, 4=moderate, 5=severe. The number of participants with scores of 2 or higher will be divided by all participants.
Time frame: 3 months
Severity of redness during treatment
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will rate their overall redness from 1 to 5 where 1=no redness, 2= very minimal, 3=minimal, 4=moderate, 5=severe. Mean redness ratings will be calculated with higher mean scores suggesting more severe redness.
Time frame: 3 months
Day of worst redness
For participants who experienced any redness, the mean day after treatment when the redness was worst will be calculated.
Time frame: 3 months
Percent of participants who experienced scaling/flaking
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will be asked if they experienced any scaling/flaking. The number of participants who responded 'yes' will be divided by all participants.
Time frame: 3 months
Percent of participants who experienced skin itching
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will be asked if they experienced any skin itching. The number of participants who responded 'yes' will be divided by all participants.
Time frame: 3 months
Percent of participants who experienced skin burning
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will be asked if they experienced any skin burning. The number of participants who responded 'yes' will be divided by all participants.
Time frame: 3 months
Participant compliance with treatment
Compliance with treatment will be assessed by weighing the medicine tubes after treatment completion and comparing the weight, estimated in grams from fingertip units (FTU), with the expected weight based on the how much medicine should have been used given the treatment regimen. The closer this difference is to zero, the greater the compliance.
Time frame: 3 months
Participant satisfaction with treatment
Based on responses to an investigator-developed survey completed by each participant within 5 days of treatment completion, participants will rate their satisfaction with the treatment from 1 to 5 where 1=very dissatisfied, 2= dissatisfied, 3=neutral, 4=satisfied, 5=very satisfied. Mean satisfaction ratings will be calculated with higher mean scores suggesting more treatment satisfaction.
Time frame: 3 months
Recurrence rate of cancer lesions at 1 year
The recurrence rate is the percentage of cancer lesions that recur which is the number that recur out of the number cleared.
Time frame: 1 year
Recurrence rate of cancer lesions at 3 years
The recurrence rate is the percentage of cancer lesions that recur which is the number that recur out of the number cleared.
Time frame: 3 years
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