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Imiquimod Cream Preceded by Superficial Curettage vs Surgical Excision for Nodular BCC

Verkouteren BJA, Nelemans PJ, Sinx KAE, et al.
Dermatologic Surgery (2025)

Open AccessJC: April 2025

This study compared imiquimod cream preceded by superficial curettage with surgical excision for the treatment of nodular basal cell carcinoma. The comparison evaluated cure rates, cosmetic outcomes, and patient preferences to guide treatment selection for this common BCC subtype.

Take-Home Messages

  • •Curettage followed by imiquimod may be a viable non-surgical alternative for select nodular BCCs, though surgical excision remains the gold standard.
  • •Patient preference and tumor characteristics should guide the choice between surgical and non-surgical approaches for nodular BCC.
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Topic

Non-Surgical Treatments

Topical therapies, PDT, cryotherapy, laser alternatives

Abstract

Interest in noninvasive treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has been increasing. For superficial BCC, it has been demonstrated that imiquimod cream, 5%, has high long-term efficacy, but for nodular BCC (nBCC), long-term evidence is sparse. To evaluate whether superficial curettage (SC) followed by imiquimod cream, 5%, is noninferior to surgical excision (SE) in nBCC after 5 years of treatment. In this secondary analysis of the noninferiority Surgery Versus Combined Treatment With Curettag...

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Literature review only. This summary is an editorial interpretation and may not reflect the complete findings of the original publication. Always refer to the full-text article for clinical decision-making.