Two-year experience of using the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as intralesional immunotherapy for warts

Background The currently available treatments for warts, including cryosurgery, laser surgery, electrosurgery, and topical keratolytic applications, are often very painful and can induce disfiguring scars. Recently, intralesional immunotherapy with skin test antigens and vaccines has been shown to be effective in the management of warts. Aims To evaluate the efficacy of a new intralesional immunotherapy for warts, using the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Methods A retrospective study was performed, and we enrolled 136 patients with various types of warts into the study, which was for a duration of 2years. Patients were treated for a total of six times at 2-week intervals. The treatment response was classified as one of three levels, based on reduction in the size and number of warts, and patients with complete response (CR) were checked for recurrence. Clinical evaluations were carried out using photographs and medical records. Results Over half (51.5%) of patients experienced > 50% reduction in the size and number of warts, and 46.7% who had distant warts (in different locations) showed good response. Common warts showed significantly higher treatment response than other types of warts (P<0.05). However, other clinical variables did not have any effect on efficacy. Almost all the patients reported mild pain during the injection, but other side effects were rarely observed. Only 5.6% of patients who experienced CR had recurrence of warts after 6months. Conclusions We suggest that intralesional immunotherapy with MMR vaccine is a tolerable and effective method for patients who are sensitive to pain, concerned about side effects, or have common warts. Treatment response is improved by increasing the number of injections.