DEFLAGYN® Vaginal Gel and Spontaneous Remission and Regression of Unclear Cervical Smears and HPV High-risk Infections

Plain-language summary

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most common sexually transmitted pathogens worldwide and in most cases are causally associated with the development of cervical cancer, one of the most common cancers in women and one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. Precancerous lesions (dysplasias) or the presence of a high-risk HPV subtype are detected by a screening smear test performed by a gynecologist. If precancerous lesions are detected, conization (= surgical removal of a cone of tissue from the cervix) is the method of choice for removing the diseased tissue. However, if the degree of dysplasia is correspondingly low or the smear is unclear, then the guideline-compliant non-surgical treatment provides for a wait-and-see approach with PAP and HPV smear control after 6-8 months. This "wait-and-see" approach can be complemented by local therapy with an immunostimulant. For this purpose, DEFLAGYN® (a vaginal gel containing silica and citric acid) and Aldara® (imiquimod, a Toll-Like Re-ceptor 7 antagonist) are available. However, while the latter is not approved for the treatment of cervical dysplasia or HPV infection, DEFLAGYN® has CE marking and approval as a medical device for treatment in a number of indications, such as unclear cervical smears, HPV-induced cervical lesions, p16/Ki-67-positive cervical lesions or cervical erosions. However, available studies on the efficacy of DEFLAGYN are limited. For example, there is only one prospective randomized trial (Major et al, 2021, Arch. Gynecol. Obstet. 303:501-511), which included 216 women with histologically confirmed CIN 1/2. A 3-month intravaginal application of DEFLAGYN® resulted in regression of CIN 1/2 in 72% versus 25% in the control arm (no intervention). Side effects of therapy with DEFLAGYN® were not observed in this study. Due to the frequency of CIN and HPV infections in the female population and due to the high medical relevance of a conservative method of treating this disease, further methodologically high-quality studies on the efficacy of DEFLAGYN® should be performed.

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