Background: Research evaluating the efficacy of multimodal therapy for the treatment of keloids has reported combination regimens are most effective.
Objective: To compare recurrence rates for keloids treated with surgery plus one adjuvant intervention (dual therapy) versus surgery plus 2 or more adjuvant interventions (triple therapy).
Materials and methods: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis of combination treatment for keloids.
Results: After full-text review, we included 60 articles representing 5,547 keloids: 5,243 received dual therapy, 259 received triple therapy, and 45 received quadruple therapy (the latter 2 groups were combined for analysis). The difference in recurrence rates between dual (19%) and triple therapy (11.2%) was not significant (p = .343). However, the difference in recurrence rates between dual therapy using surgery and radiation (18.7%) and triple therapy using surgery, radiation, and a third intervention (7.7%) was significant (p = .002). The differences for surgery and intralesional triamcinolone (TAC) showed trends toward significance, because keloids treated with dual therapy (21.7%) had a higher recurrence rate than those treated with triple therapy comprised of surgery, TAC, and another intervention (13.7%; p = .099).
Conclusion: Triple therapy using surgery plus radiation and/or TAC as one of the adjuvant treatment modalities may achieve the lowest recurrence rates for keloids.