# The regression time of ocular surface squamous neoplasia using topical interferon alfa-2b does not depend on the initial tumor size

## TL;DR

This study found that the time it takes for a specific eye tumor to shrink using a topical treatment does not depend on how big the tumor was at the start.

## Contribution

The study shows that initial tumor size does not predict treatment duration for ocular surface squamous neoplasia using interferon alfa-2b.

## Key findings

- All 15 patients achieved complete tumor resolution with interferon alfa-2b treatment.
- No significant correlation was found between initial tumor size and time to resolution.
- Two patients showed increased tumor volume after 15 days but still achieved complete resolution.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if the initial tumor size correlates
with the time to regression after topical interferon alfa-2b (1 million
IU/mL) therapy in the treatment of ocular surface squamous neoplasia.

A retrospective study was performed in 15 patients clinically diagnosed as
having ocular surface squamous neoplasia and treated with topical interferon
alfa-2b (1 million IU/mL, four times a day). All the cases of ocular surface
squamous neoplasia included in the study had corneo-limbal involvement. The
initial extension of the ocular surface squamous neoplasia was measured in
square millimeters using the program ImageJ (LOCI, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, USA) on images taken from the eyes of each patient immediately
before the beginning of the treatment. The time until tumor resolution was
measured for each case.

Complete tumor resolution was achieved in all the cases, with a mean initial
tumor extension of 26.71 mm2 (standard deviation ± 17.21
mm2) and a mean time until resolution of 77 days (standard
deviation ± 32 days). An increased tumor volume after 15 days of
treatment was observed in 2 patients, which completely resolved. No
significant correlation was found between the time to resolution and the
initial tumor extension measured in square millimeters (Spearman test,
p=0.347).

Our study suggests that the duration of topical interferon alfa-2b treatment
required does not depend on the initial tumor size of the ocular surface
squamous neoplasia usually found in clinical practice.