September 4, 2018
Ivan Bristow, Anthony Davies, David Calway, Graham Howell, Jean Mooney discuss the latest developments in the treatment of verrucae.
September 3, 2017
Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection of keratinocytes causes cutaneous warts. Warts induce significant morbidity and disability but most therapies, including cryotherapy, laser and radiofrequency devices show low efficacy. Microwaves induce heating of tissue in a highly controllable, uniform manner and we set out to explore their use in treatment of HPV. We present a pilot study of microwave therapy to the skin in 32 individuals with 52 recalcitrant plantar warts. Additionally, we undertook a molecular characterisation of the effects of microwaves on the skin. Microwave therapy was well tolerated and 75.9% of lesions cleared, which compares favourably to 23-33% success for cryotherapy or salicylic acid. Microwaves specifically induced dendritic cell cross-presentation of HPV antigen to CD8+ T-cells in skin and we show that IL-6 may be important for IRF1 and IRF4 modulation to enhance this process. Keratinocyte-skin dendritic cell cross-talk is integral to host defence against HPV infections, and this study shows that microwave induces anti-HPV immunity which is important for treatment of warts and potentially HPV-related cancers.
Ivan Bristow BSc PhD; Wen Chean Lim BSc PhD; Alvin Lee MBBS (MD); Daniel Holbrook BSc; Natalia Savelyeva PhD; Peter Thomson BSc; Christopher Webb BSc; Marta Polak MSc PhD; Michael R. Ardern-Jones DPhil FRCP (MD PhD)
July 2, 2017
Plantar warts, caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), are a commonly encountered condition presenting in clinic. In adults, an array of various therapies exists, frequently with modest results particularly with plantar lesions. Microwaves have had limited uses for medical purposes. Recently a new portable microwave device has been approved for the treatment of skin lesions. Prior research has demonstrated immuno-stimulatory effects against HPV infection. We report the application of a novel portable medical microwave unit to treat a long-standing plantar wart which had failed to respond to other treatment modalities.
June 1, 2017
The basic science of microwave effects on skin and clinical responses noted suggest a mechanism for the observed action of microwaves in cutaneous warts, although more research is required to further this knowledge. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hyperthermia provides a strong case for this new technology to be explored further as a local immune response activator therapy. Additionally, it seems likely that there may be many other potential dermatology applications for this exciting technology.
