Applying the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil to skin might help improve the appearance of sun-damaged areas and reduce potentially precancerous patches, according to a small, new study.

    Fluorouracil is used to treat cancers of the colon, head and neck, pancreas and other organs. Changes in skin appearance have been noted in people undergoing treatment with systemic fluorouracil, and this led to the development of a skin cream that contains the cancer drug.

    The new study included 21 healthy volunteers with sun-damaged skin and actinic keratoses -- skin lesions that could develop into skin cancer -- on their faces. The participants applied 5 percent fluorouracil cream to their faces twice daily for two weeks.

    The researchers said that the number of actinic keratoses declined from an average of 11.6 lesions per person to an average of 1.5 lesions. There were also improvements in aging-related damage, including wrinkling and dark skin spots.

    The study, funded by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology.

    "For patients in whom a course of topical fluorouracil is indicated for the treatment of actinic keratoses, there will likely be the additional benefit of a restorative effect from sun damage; this may provide further motivation for these patients to undergo the rigorous treatment," concluded Dr. Dana L. Sachs, of the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues.

    "It is possible that for some patients topical fluorouracil may have an important role against photo-aging," they wrote. "For others, however, it may not be cosmetically acceptable given that a standard course of therapy may last two to three weeks and the ensuring reaction can persist for several more weeks. Undoubtedly, there will be patients who desire a therapy such as topical fluorouracil for cosmetic purposes given the relatively low cost of this therapy compared with ablative laser resurfacing."

    一項最新的小規模研究發現，將化療藥物-氟尿嘧啶涂抹在被太陽曬傷的區域有助于改善皮膚表面并可能降低癌癥前期的斑塊。

    氟尿嘧啶是用來治療結腸癌、頭頸癌、胰腺癌和其他器官等的癌癥。在對有關人群采用氟尿嘧啶進行系統治療之后，其皮膚表面發生了明顯改觀，這也導致了含防癌藥物護膚霜的研制。

    該項研究是針對21位志愿者展開的，他們臉部的皮膚均被曬傷且患有光化性角化病-一種可演變為皮膚癌的皮膚損害。研究對象將氟尿嘧啶膏涂抹在臉上，一天兩次，堅持兩周。

    研究人員指出光化性角化病數量從平均11.6塊損傷/人減少到平均1.5塊損傷/人；在對老齡化引起的身體損害如皺紋、暗斑等方面也有改善。

    由Valeant制藥國際資助的該項研究發表在《皮膚病學文獻》的6月刊物上。

    根據密西根大學醫學院的Dana L. Sachs博士和其他研究人員的總結得出，對于處在局部氟尿嘧啶治療過程中進行光化性角化病的患者，除達到預期恢復效果外，還將可能獲得額外好處；這可能促使患者進一步進行更大程度的治療。

    他們寫道，對有些患者而言，局部氟尿嘧啶治療對預防光老化很可能起著重要作用；而對為追求美容的其他患者，這是不可取的，因為一次標準的治療過程要持續2-3周，藥物反應可能會持續更長時間。但毫無疑問，考慮到此類療法相對于激光剝皮較便宜，今后會有追求美容的病人采用諸如局部氟尿嘧啶治療的療法。