Samcyprone™ for Warts
Diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) also known as Diphencyprone has been employed for decades for the treatment of warts. Hapten Pharmaceuticals Samcyprone™ is a GMP produced proprietary DPCP gel that is available in 0.4% and 0.04% concentrations.
- Samcyprone™activates both the innate and acquired immune systems at the wart site and the regional lymphatic nodes.
- Samcyprone™ is superior to Imiquimod as an immunomodulator. Compared to Imiquimod, DPCP treated skin shows larger increases in CD3+ T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD11c+ myeloid dendritic cells, and CD163+ macrophages. Furthermore, by qRT-PCR analysis, DPCP induced stronger upregulation of IFNγ (3-fold) and IL-9 (5-fold) than imiquimod.
- Samcyprone™ is superior to Cryo and other tissue destructive warts treatments in clearing warts , avoiding cosmetic issues, and warts recurrence.
- Samcyprone™ upregulates antigen presenting cells at the wart site and involves the regional lymph nodes associated with the wart site. This activation of the acquired immune system can lead to direct antibody activity to HPV related warts at distal untreated sites.
The use of diphenylcyclopropenone in the treatment of recalcitrant warts
Jennifer A Upitis 1, Alfons Krol J Cutan Med Surg. 2002 May-Jun;6(3):214-7
Background: The treatment of recalcitrant palmoplantar and periungual warts using topical immunotherapy with diphenylcyclopropenone (DPC) was reviewed retrospectively over a seven-year period.
Methods: Two hundred eleven patients were sensitized during this time. The patients consisted of 90 males and 121 females and were between 5 and 78 years old. Twenty-three patients were lost to followup. Of the remaining, 4 were undergoing treatment at the time of evaluation, 1 patient failed sensitization, and 1 patient became pregnant. Four discontinued because of side effects, 3 because of financial reasons, and 18 patients discontinued treatment prior to completing the minimum required applications (defined as 6), producing a dropout rate of 12% (25/211). Three patients had additional treatment during the course of DPC and were not included in the study. The remaining 154 patients were classified as nonresponders or responders.
Results: The responders consisted of 135 individuals (87.7%) that had complete clearance of warts. Reported adverse effects were local and included with pruritus (15.6%), with blistering (7.1%), and with eczematous reactions (14.2%). The majority of the patients tolerated the treatment very well. One patient developed local impetigo. Patients had an average of 5 treatments over a 6-month period.
Conclusions: Topical immunotherapy using DPC is an effective treatment option for recalcitrant warts. It should be considered as first-line treatment for warts based on its high response rate, absence of scarring, and painless application.
| Author | Number of patients | Warts Type | Number of Treatments | % of DPCP | % Cure | % S/E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiesner-Menzel | 8 | Plantar | 8-12 | 1.0-3.0 | 75 | 12.5 |
| Lane | 10 | Palmoplantar, genital | ? | 0.1-1.0 | 50 | 20 |
| Naylor | 45 | Palmoplantar, face | ? | 0.01-1.0 | 62 | 49 |
| Orecchia | 44 | Palmoplantar | 3-10 | 0.2-2.0 | 45 | 25 |
| Rampen | 111 | Palmoplantar | 8 | 0.001-3.0 | 60 | 4.3 |
| Buckley | 48 | Palmoplantar | 1-22 | 0.01-6.0 | 88 | 56 |
| Present Study | 154 | Palmoplantar | 1-35 | 1.0-4.0 | 88 | 37 |
Phase II clinical study employing Samcyprone™ to treat warts
Overall Efficacy Results
- Immunotherapeutic response: Of the 88 subjects enrolled in the study, 85 received at least one sensitization dose of 0.4% DPCP ointment, and a positive immunotherapeutic response was observed in all but 2 subjects (one in each cohort), overall resulting in a 97.7% success rate of 0.4% DPCP ointment in eliciting the required immunotherapeutic response.
- Wart response rate: The total number of wart lesions in the per protocol population (PP) was 87. Already during the first 10 weeks of weekly treatments, a significant number of warts had a positive response to the treatment, i.e. displayed a ≥50% reduction in wart size. The overall wart response rate at that time was 70.1%, and for non-plantar warts the overall response rate during the first 10 weeks was 81.0%.
- Wart clearance rate: Complete clearance (PP) during the first 10 weeks of treatment was seen in 43.7% of all warts. Throughout the full course of the study, 47 warts (54.0%) achieved complete clearance. More non-plantar wart lesions, compared to plantar wart lesions, achieved complete clearance: Clearance rate of non-plantar warts lesions was the highest in Cohort 1 (57.1% during first 10 weeks, 71.4% after complete study).
