Effectiveness of a 595-nm Pulsed Dye Laser for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma Using One Double-Stacked Pulse Session: A Randomized, Double-Blinded Controlled Trial

Background Surgical and nonsurgical methods are used for treating basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Few randomized controlled trials exist on the effectiveness of the pulsed dye laser (PDL) on BCC treatment. Objective We investigated the effectiveness of PDL treatment in a single session for the management of nodular and superficial BCCs on the trunk and extremities of adults using a randomized, double-blind, controlled technique. Methods We used settings of fluence 7.5 J/cm2, 3-ms pulse duration, no dynamic cooling, 10-mm spot size, 10% overlap between pulses, and 2 stacked pulses on a 595-nm wavelength laser. Histopathologic clearance on excision of tumor with 4-mm margins was the primary outcome measure. Results Twenty-four patients were included in the study, with 14 in the laser treatment group and 10 patients in the sham/control group. In total, 10/14 (71.4%) of the tumors in the treatment group were successfully treated with no residual tumor on excisional specimen histology, compared with 3/10 (30.0%) of the control group (p = .045). Conclusion Our study shows that PDL may be an effective treatment for low-risk BCCs of the trunk and extremities, but the cure rate is lower than those of other treatments for BCC. Thus, PDL under the current settings cannot be recommended.