Clinical Efficacy of 5‐Aminolevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy Combined With Interferon Spray in Treating Common and Plantar Warts

BACKGROUND: Conventional treatments for common and plantar warts often have limited efficacy and high recurrence rates. 5-Aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (5-ALA-PDT) has attracted increasing attention as an alternative therapeutic option for these lesions. This study investigated the potential of 5-ALA-PDT as an alternative treatment option for patients with refractory common and plantar warts. OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of 5-ALA-PDT and recombinant human interferon alpha 2b (rhIFN-α2b) spray combination therapy against common and plantar warts. METHODS: We enrolled 104 patients with common or plantar warts and randomly assigned them to the intervention (5-ALA-PDT combined with rhIFN-α2b spray; n = 51) or control (cryotherapy; n = 53) group to compare treatment efficacy, recurrence rate, and adverse events. RESULTS: After three consecutive treatment cycles, the 4-week complete recovery and total effective rates were 90.20% and 96.08% in the intervention group, versus 62.26% (p = 0.002) and 77.36% (p = 0.013) in the control group. Recurrence rates were significantly lower in the intervention group at 8 weeks (2.17% vs. 24.24%), 12 weeks (4.35% vs. 33.33%), and 6 months (4.35% vs. 39.39%; all p < 0.05). All adverse events were mild to moderate and localized. CONCLUSION: 5-ALA-PDT combined with rhIFN-α2b spray exhibited superior clinical efficacy in treating common and plantar warts, significantly improving treatment efficacy, reducing medium-term recurrence, and demonstrating good safety and tolerability.