Efficacy and safety of intralesional <i>Candida albican</i> s antigen versus intralesional mumps, measles, rubella vaccine in the treatment of multiple cutaneous warts: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Objectives This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of intralesional C. albicans antigen with intralesional MMR vaccine in the treatment of multiple cutaneous warts in patients aged above 12 years. Material and Methods This was a double-blinded randomized control trial on sixty patients with multiple cutaneous warts. Treatment group 1 received intralesional C. albicans antigen and treatment group 2 received intralesional MMR vaccine. Each patient was given a total of 0.3 mL of antigen divided into the two largest warts at week 0, 2, and 4 and followed up at week 8. Efficacy was assessed by complete response rates, distal response rates, and response rates of injected warts. Safety was assessed by the rate of adverse events occurring with either of the treatment modalities. Results Out of the sixty patients, 53 patients completed the study. The complete therapeutic response rate was 37.5% and 34.48% in treatment groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean time taken to achieve complete clearance of warts was 7.33 ± 2.000 weeks and 7.2 ± 1.687 weeks, respectively. Treatment group 1 showed a significantly higher rate of side effects compared to treatment group 2. Conclusion Intralesional immunotherapy with Candida and MMR both showed similar efficacy, and MMR was found to be relatively safer than C. albicans antigen.