Laser therapy versus cryotherapy of lentigines: A comparative trial

Background: Lentigines are common sun-induced benign melanocytic proliferations. Many therapies have been advocated, but few have been systemically evaluated. Objective: We studied the effectiveness of two laser modalities in comparison with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy for lentigines. Methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled, prospective trial comparing liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, argon laser light delivered by a Dermascan shuttered delivery system, and low-fiuence carbon dioxide laser irradiation in the treatment of solar lentigines at 99 sites in 13 patients. Results: Cryotherapy was more likely to produce substantial lightening than either argon or CO 2 laser treatment, which gave similar results ( p < 0.05 for both comparisons). The odds of an excellent results were about 50% higher with cryosurgery than with CO 2 or argon laser therapy. Conclusion: Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy was superior to argon and CO 2 laser therapy in the treatment of benign epidermal pigmented lesions. This study demonstrates that comparative rather than uncontrolled studies are needed to judge the relative efficacy of therapies for benign pigmented lesions such as lentigines.