Topical Interferon or Surgical Excision for the Management of Primary Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia

Objective To describe the successful treatment and long-term outcomes of primary ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) with topical interferon alfa-2b or surgical excision. Design Retrospective, comparative, interventional case series. Participants Twenty-nine consecutive patients with OSSN never before treated. Intervention Patients with primary OSSN chose topical interferon alfa-2b or excision with wide surgical margins, with crossover to surgery in those interferon-treated patients whose OSSN failed to regress within 2 months after beginning therapy. Main Outcome Measures Successful resolution of clinical disease at 2 months after topical interferon treatment and time to recurrence after either topical interferon or surgical excision. Results Of 29 patients with primary OSSN, 15 elected topical interferon and 14 chose surgical excision. Two patients in the interferon group subsequently underwent surgical excision for apparent lack of response to interferon. No patient in either group developed a recurrence during the study period (disease-free follow-up: interferon group , mean, 35.6 months [95% confidence interval, 21.9–49.3]; surgery group , mean, 35.6 months [22.9–48.3]). Conclusions Both topical interferon alfa-2b and aggressive surgical excision appear to be effective for primary OSSN.