{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,7]],"date-time":"2025-07-07T05:47:30Z","timestamp":1751867250230,"version":"3.40.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"S. Karger AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,1]],"date-time":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704067200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/pages\/terms-and-conditions"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,1]],"date-time":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704067200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/pages\/terms-and-conditions"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dermatology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Introduction:&lt;\/i&gt;&lt;\/b&gt; Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is characterized by progressive anatomical changes which become increasingly severe and irreversible. The objective of this study was to investigate if a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d exists in VLS, i.e., to assess if an early treatment may prevent disease progression and facilitate clearance of symptoms and\/or signs. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;\/i&gt;&lt;\/b&gt; This retrospective, cohort study included VLS patients treated for the first time with a topical corticosteroid, namely with mometasone furoate 0.1% ointment, for 12 weeks (2016\u20132021). Scoring of subjective symptoms (global subjective score, GSS, and dyspareunia) and clinical features (global objective score [GOS] and sclerosis-scarring-atrophy) was performed at baseline (T0) and at the control visit (T1). We assessed if the achievement of clearance in GSS, GOS, sclerosis-scarring-atrophy, or dyspareunia depended on the time elapsed between VLS onset and treatment initiation. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;\/i&gt;&lt;\/b&gt; Among the 168 patients (59.2 \u00b1 13.2 years) included, the median time between VLS onset and first treatment was 14.0 months. At T1, 48.8% of patients achieved clearance of GSS, 28% of GOS and 11.9% of both GSS and GOS, 57.9% of dyspareunia, and 19.2% of sclerosis-scarring-atrophy. The logistic regression model showed that each 10-month increase in treatment initiation adversely affected the clearance of GSS while starting treatment within 6 months of disease onset was significantly associated with clearance of GOS and sclerosis-scarring-atrophy. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;\/i&gt;&lt;\/b&gt; Early treatment is crucial in determining a complete healing of VLS-related symptoms and signs, especially of tissue sclerosis-scarring-atrophy, which appear poorly responsive, or even unresponsive, after the earliest stages of the disease. Thus our findings provide evidence for a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d in VLS treatment. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1159\/000535849","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,1]],"date-time":"2024-01-01T22:00:26Z","timestamp":1704146426000},"page":"195-204","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Searching for a \u201cWindow of Opportunity\u201d in the Treatment of Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus: Evidence for Therapeutic Benefits of an Early Corticosteroid Treatment"],"prefix":"10.1159","volume":"240","author":[{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Borghi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria Elena","family":"Flacco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Natale","family":"Schettini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giulia","family":"Toni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Monica","family":"Corazza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"127","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,1]]},"container-title":["Dermatology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/drm\/article-pdf\/240\/2\/195\/4189528\/000535849.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/drm\/article-pdf\/240\/2\/195\/4189528\/000535849.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T16:02:01Z","timestamp":1745424121000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/article\/doi\/10.1159\/000535849"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,4]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1159\/000535849","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1018-8665","1421-9832"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"1018-8665"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1421-9832"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024]]}}}