Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Aug;55(6):547-554.
doi: 10.1002/lsm.23670. Epub 2023 Apr 23.

Efficacy of non-ablative 1927-nm fractional thulium fiber laser for the treatment of Becker's nevus: Intra- and interobserver agreement study

Affiliations
Case Reports

Efficacy of non-ablative 1927-nm fractional thulium fiber laser for the treatment of Becker's nevus: Intra- and interobserver agreement study

Abdulmajeed Alajlan et al. Lasers Surg Med. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of a 1927-nm fractional thulium fiber laser treatment for Becker's nevus.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with Becker's nevus who were treated with a 1927-nm fractional thulium fiber laser was conducted. Grading for lightening was set quarterly by physician global assessment of the pre- and postphotographs (I: <25%; II: 25%-50%; III: 51%-75%; and IV: >75% for marked lightening). Grading validation was exercised using intra- and interobserver agreement analysis among 10 dermatologists to determine the percent of agreement and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Grades I and II were classified as treatment failure.

Results: A total of 21 patients were recruited for analysis. The average number of treatment sessions was 2.1 per patient. A total of 13 patients achieved successful outcomes (grades III and IV) while 8 patients experienced treatment failure (grades I and II). Partial recurrence and transient hypopigmentation on adjacent skin were the main adverse effects. Only one patient reported worsening of the nevus. Overall agreement among the raters for the outcomes was graded from "very good" to "excellent," and the intraclass correlation coefficient, kappa, was 0.8.

Conclusion: A 1927-nm fractional thulium fiber laser may be effective to ameliorate the pigment of Becker's nevus and achieve acceptable cosmetic outcomes. However, further studies are required in this area to improve and optimize the results.

Keywords: 1927 nm; Becker's; Becker's nevus; cosmetic; fractional; laser; nevi; pigmentary; skin and dermatology; thulium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Becker SW. Concurrent melanosis and hypertrichosis in distribution of nevus unius lateris. Arch Dermatol. 1949;60(2):155.
    1. Zhong Y, Yang B, Huang L, Elias PM, Man M-Q. Lasers for Becker's nevus. Lasers Med Sci. 2019;34(6):1071-9.
    1. Happle R. Becker's nevus and lethal beta-actin mutations. J Invest Dermatol. 2017;137(8):1619-21.
    1. Patel P, Malik K, Khachemoune A. Sebaceus and Becker's nevus: overview of their presentation, pathogenesis, associations, and treatment. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2015;16(3):197-204.
    1. Sheng P, Cheng Y-L, Cai C-C, Guo W-J, Zhou Y, Shi G, et al. Clinicopathological features and immunohistochemical alterations of keratinocyte proliferation, melanocyte density, smooth muscle hyperplasia and nerve fiber distribution in beckers nevus. Ann Dermatol. 2016;28(6):697.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources