Table 1.
Study characteristics.
| Study | Study Design | Continent (Country) |
Type of Treatment |
Treatment Protocol * |
No. Patients | No. Controls | Follow-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David, 1985 | Retrospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 15 W, 3 mm, 300 W/cm2 1 session, 1–3 passes |
8 | 0 | 34 (27–38 months) |
| Whitaker, 1987 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 4–8 W, 2 mm, 133–256 W/cm2 1 session, 2 passes |
16 | 0 | ≥24 months |
| Dufresne, 1988 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 3–5 W, 2 mm, 100–160 W/cm2 SP, 3–5 W, 200–300 μsec pulse width, 200 to 300 repetitions per second, 2 mm 1 session |
13 | 0 | 11 (3–24 months) |
| Stanley, 1988 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 2–3 W, 1 mm 1 session, 1–3 passes |
3 | 0 | 18 months |
| Robinson, 1989 | RCT | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 5 W, 1 mm, 200–250 W/cm2 1 session, multiple passes |
10 | 30 (topical 5-FU, chemical peel, vermilionectomy) | 50 months |
| Zelickson & Roenigk, 1990 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 5–7 W, 2 mm, 1 session |
43 | 0 | 20 (>10 months) |
| Johnson, 1992 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 2–3 W, 1 mm 1 session, 1–3 passes |
14 | 0 | 12 months |
| Neder, 1992 | Retrospective case series | Asia (Israel) | CO2 laser ablation | Repeated pulse, 8 W 1 session |
16 | 0 | 12 months |
| Alamillos-Granados, 1993 | Prospective case series | Europe (Spain) | CO2 laser vermilionectomy | CW, 8 W 1 session |
19 | 0 | NR |
| Fitzpatrick, 1994 | Retrospective case series | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 0.5–10 W, 3–4 mm SP, 80 W peak power, 200–400 ms, 2.5 mm 1 session, repeatedly passes |
35 (17 CM, 18 SP) | 0 | 8–30 months |
| Conejo-Mir, 1995 | Prospective case series | Europa (Spain) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 5 W, 2 mm, 100–160 W/cm2 1 session, 1–3 passes |
25 | 0 | 36 months |
| Hohenleutner, 1999 | Prospective case series | Europa (Germany) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 10 W 1 session, repeatedly passes |
19 | 0 | 16 (2–60 months) |
| Laws, 2000 | RCT | North America (USA) | CO2 laser ablation vs. electrodessication | Short pulse 18 W, 360 mJ/cm2, 7 × 3.5 mm rectangular pattern 1 session |
14 | 14 | 3 months |
| Alexiades-Armenakas, 2004 | Prospective case series | North America (USA) | Laser mediated LP PDT vs. LP PDT alone | 75 J/cm2, 10 ms, 10 mm 1–3 sessions, 1–3 passes |
19 | 2 | 12 months |
| Orenstein, 2007 | Retrospective case series | Asia (Israel) | Er:YAG laser ablation | 3 mm, 16.97–24.05 J/cm2, 1 session, repeatedly passes |
12 | 0 | 23.16 (8–36 months) |
|
de Godoy
Peres, 2009 |
RCT | South America (Brazil) | CO2 laser ablation (350 vs. 250 mJ) | CW, 350 mJ, 3.5 W, amplitude of 0.1 s, repetition rate of 6.6 Hz CW, 250 mJ, 5 W, amplitude of 0.05 s, repetition rate of 10 Hz 1 session |
40 | 40 | 19.45 (6–30 months) |
| Amenores 2010 | Retrospective case series | Oceania (Australia) | Er:YAG laser ablation | 4 mm, 1 J/cm2, 2–35 or 400 ms. 1 session, 1–4 passes |
99 | 0 | 65.7 (10.0–99.2 months) |
| Castiñeiras, 2010 | Retrospective case series | Europe (Spain) | CO2 laser ablation | CW, 2 W/cm2 1 or more sessions, several passes |
43 | 0 | 29.4 (13–60 months) |
| Ghasri, 2012 | Case report | North America (USA) | 1927-nm thulium laser | 20 mJ/cm2 3 sessions, 4 passes |
1 | 0 | Not reported |
| Choi, 2015 | RCT | Asia (South Korea) | Er:YAG ablative fractional laser + MAL-PDT vs. MAL-PDT | 300 μm ablation depth, single pulse 1 session |
14 | 19 (MAL-PDT) | >12 months |
* Parameters of laser: CW = continuous wave, SP = superpulsed, W = watts of power, diameter of spot size, irradiance. Abbreviations: RCT, randomized clinical trial; CO2, carbon dioxide; LP, (long-pulsed pulsed dye laser); PDT, photodynamic therapy; mJ, millijoule; Er:YAG, Erbium:YAG; MAL, methyl aminolevulinate; cm2, square centimeters; mm, millimeters; μsec, microsecond; 5-FU, 5-fluorouracil.