Clinical efficacy analysis of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy for vulvar lichen sclerosus.

• PDT is an efficient, safe, and non-invasive treatment method for VLS. • PDT treatment can be considered for VLS with ineffective topical glucocorticoid therapy. • For patients with severe itching and atrophy, PDT was less effective. Menopause status, number of birth given, BMI, and duration of disease did not affect treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the efficacy of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus who do not respond to topical glucocorticoid therapy, analyze whether there are factors that affect the efficacy, and identify adverse reactions to the treatment. This retrospective study included 42 patients with vulval lichen sclerosis treated with ALA-PDT. Basic data of all patients were collected, and the clinical symptoms and signs of the patients before treatment were evaluated. After one year of treatment, the clinical efficacy was evaluated and analyzed whether there were any factors that affected the treatment effect. One year after the ALA-PDT treatment, the clinical effective rate was 64.29 % (27/42), the general effective rate was 19.05 % (8/42), the ineffective rate was 4.76 % (2/42), and the recurrence rate was 11.90 % (5/42). There was no correlation between menopause, number of births given, body mass index, duration of disease, treatment times and treatment effect. For patients with severe itching and atrophy, PDT was less effective. Adverse effects were minimal and no structural complications were reported. ALA-PDT can obviously alleviate itching in VLS patients, improve skin elasticity, skin color and reduce lesion area. ALA-PDT for VLS has a low recurrence rate and few side effects. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]