Comparative Study of Intralesional Measles–Mumps–Rubella Vaccine versus Needling-Induced Autoinoculation in the Management of Genital Warts

Genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) are one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, especially among women. Genital HPV infection has a relatively long incubation period up to 8 months. It is known to have a high recurrence rate, and the infection by certain high-risk HPV strains is known to be associated with malignancies of cervix, penis, vulva, vagina, and anus. Thus, factors such as long latency, lesions’ multiplicity, high recurrence rate, and the tendency to malignant transformation, are essential challenges during management of genital HPV infections. The clinical outcome of traditional treatment modalities; such as podophyllotoxin, imiquimod, cryotherapy, electrocautery, trichloroacetic acid, photodynamic therapy, and laser, is limited to individual lesions. Therefore, they are usually inconvenient for patients with multiple and/or recurrent lesions.

to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intralesional injection of MMR vaccine in comparison with needling-induced autoinoculation in the treatment of genital warts.

Our study included 50 patients with multiple and recurrent genital warts (more than 4 genital warts) divided into two equal matched groups. One group was subjected to MMR injection and the other subjected to needling-induced autoinoculation every two weeks for maximum three sessions. Follow-up was done for 8 weeks after last session.

This study reports that both treatment options showed statistically significant value in treatment of genital warts, and here was no statistically significant difference between both study groups as regard response to treatment.

both MMR and needling are simple and effective modalities of immunotherapy for treatment of multiple genital warts with excellent safety profile. The only disadvantage is the long time taken for immune response to occur. Combination treatment plan can overcome this disadvantage. Needling-induced autoinoculation; being more safe and inexpensive, may be considered as a competing immunotherapeutic treatment modality for multiple and recurrent genital warts.