Posters

Topical interferon on ocular surface pathology – a tertiary referral center experience

Poster Details

First Author: R.Serras-Pereira PORTUGAL

Co Author(s):    D. Maleita   C. Xavier   A. Duarte   A. Magriço   V. Maduro   J. Feijão     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

The aim of our study is to describe the results in terms of safety, efficacy and recurrence of disease with topical interferon alfa-2b 1 M.U./mL as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of ocular surface pathology.

Setting:

Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisbon, Portugal

Methods:

Retrospective study involving thirteen patients (4 females and 9 males) who underwent excision of ocular surface suspicious lesions and treated with adjunctive topical interferon. Anatomopathological results, duration of treatment, tolerance and rate of recurrence were evaluated. We additionally present anterior segment optical coherence tomography and confocal microscopy records and anterior segment photographs.

Results:

The majority of patients (n=10, 76.92%) treated with topical interferon were diagnosed with conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and the remaining with an invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a conjunctival melanoma and a pterygium with multiple recurrences. Mean duration of treatment was 4.38 months (range 1.5 – 12 months). The overall tolerance was good with only two patients (15.38%) having discontinued treatment. With a minimum follow-up of 12 months after discontinuation of treatment, we did not identify patients with recurrent disease. The patient with an invasive SCC had progression of the disease not controlled by surgical excision and was enucleated.

Conclusions:

In our experience interferon alfa-2b it was used with good tolerance and favorable outcomes as an adjunctive therapy after excision of CIN and was also successfully used in a patient with multiple pterygium recurrences and in a patient with conjunctival melanoma.

Financial Disclosure:

None