Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate topical interferon alfa 2b (IFNalpha2b) as an adjunctive therapeutic agent to surgical excision in the treatment of ocular surface squamous neoplasia.
Methods: :
Clinical charts of four patients with histologically proven ocular surface squamous neoplasia from one institution treated between March 2005 and July 2008 were reviewed. Three patients had conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia and one patient had conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. Each patient was treated with surgical excision. Three of the four eyes were treated with cryotherapy at the time of excision. Topical interferon alpha 2b was applied to each affected eye four times daily for a period of 6-12 weeks.
Results: :
In the follow up period (range 6-40 months, median 16.5 months) there was no recurrence of ocular surface squamous neoplasia in any of the treated eyes. Side effects of topical treatment were limited to mild conjunctival hyperemia with no residual side effects after resolution of treatment.
Keywords: oncology • conjunctiva • cornea: clinical science