Treatment of chronic actinic dermatitis with azathioprine

Fourteen patients with severe unremitting chronic actinic dermatitis were treated with oral azathioprine in a dosage of 100-200 mg daily for a mean 11.5 months. Clinical improvement, apparently permanent, occurred after a few weeks to several months and continued for up to 2 years. Nine patients cleared or improved markedly, one patient cleared and then relapsed again on treatment, two patients showed no response and two patients needed to discontinue therapy because of gastrointestinal side-effects. We feel that in many patients azathioprine can be a very effective therapy for this extremely incapacitating disease.