Interferon therapy for condylomatous vulvitis

During a 3-year period, 30 patients were referred for symptoms of vulvar pain characteristic of the vulvar vestibulitis syndrome. Colposcopic examination with a blue filter and pathologic biopsy revealed evidence of papillomavirus in 17 patients. Interferon alpha-2b recombinant was injected intradermally into the vestibule in a specific pattern three times weekly for 4 weeks. Fifteen women responded favorably with total absence of vulvar pain. Five women reported flu-like symptoms as a result of the injections. Patients without evidence of papillomavirus failed to respond to interferon therapy. Women with evidence of vulvar papillomavirus failed to respond to placebo but did respond to retreatment with interferon; vulvar biopsy specimens after therapy were negative. Interferon alpha-2b recombinant appears to offer an inexpensive, safe alternative to the more traumatic therapies currently recommended in the specific subset of vulvar vestibulitis patients in whom papillomavirus can be confirmed.