Is cimetidine effective for nongenital warts: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Warts are often a difficult treatment problem for clinicians. The goals of the current treatment modalities are to destroy the infected cells by some physical means, to produce an antimitotic effect, to induce an enhanced immunologic response to the infected tissue, or to wish away the warts by mystical means. In this study we evaluated the effect of cimetidine as an immunomodulator agent on nongenital warts. Patients and Methods. Fifty-four patients with nongenital warts of at least 6 months' duration, recalcitrant to any other therapeutic modalities, were selected for this study. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committees of the participating institutions (Ankara State Hospital and Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey). Exclusion criteria were hypersensitivity to cimetidine, pregnancy, age younger than 12 years, and treatment with any medication that might interact with cimetidine. The duration, number, localization, and type (common, plantar, periungual, flat, and mucosal) of lesions were noted.