***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: The complete treatment of anogenital warts has not been obtained with any combination of methods ; therefore , new methods are still under investigation . In this study the activity and side effects of imiquimod 5 % cream were investigated . The study group consisted of 23 male and 11 female volunteers and the control group of 9 male and 2 female volunteers . Patients applied the cream three times a week , every other day in the evenings for a period of 12 weeks . After the treatment , patients were regularly monitored for six months for recurrences . At the end of the study , 23 ( 69.7 % ) patients ( all of females and 54.5 % of males ) in the study group displayed a complete clearance , 9 patients displayed 50 - 90 % clearance and 1 patient displayed less than 50 % clearance . In the control group , only 1 patient displayed a complete clearance , 1 patient displayed 50 - 90 % clearance , and the other 8 patients showed no alteration in the lesions . These results were statistically significantly different ( p<0.01 ) . In 15 patients in the study group , no side effects were reported ; the most frequently seen side effects were erythema and erosion . In six patients that were observed for a period of six months , recurrences occurred . Imiquimod 5 % cream is a topically applied medicament that should be considered as an effective and reliable medical option in the treatment of anogenital warts Objective . To evaluate if new imiquimod formulations using a shorter treatment duration are safe and efficacious to treat  anogenital warts . Methods . In two studies 534 women ≥12 years of age ( mean 33.4 ) with 2–30 warts ( mean 7.9 ) and total wart area ≥10 mm2 ( mean 166.3 ) were r and omized ( 1 : 2 : 2 ) to placebo ( 106 ) , imiquimod 2.5 % ( 212 ) or 3.75 % ( 216 ) creams applied once daily until complete clearance or a maximum of 8 weeks . Results . For placebo , imiquimod 2.5 % and 3.75 % , respectively , complete clearance of all warts was achieved in 14.2 % , 28.3 % , and 36.6 % of women ( intent-to-treat , P = 0.008 imiquimod 2.5 % , and P < 0.001 3.75 % versus placebo ) . Mean changes in wart counts were −10.7 % , −50.9 % , and −63.5 % ( per- protocol , P < 0.001 each active versus placebo ) and safety-related discontinuation rates 0.9 % , 1.4 % , and 2.3 % . Conclusions . Imiquimod 3.75 % applied daily for up to 8 weeks was well tolerated and superior to placebo in treating women with external anogenital warts OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence of genital warts  and treatment costs in women consulting gynaecologists in France in 2005 . PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospect i ve observational study was performed through a representative sample of gynaecologists . Investigators enrolled all patients seen with genital warts during a 2-month period . A question naire detailing socio-demographic characteristics , case description , patient 's clinical profile , past/ current management , and treatment of genital warts was completed by the investigators . RESULTS 212 gynaecologists participated in the study . Question naires were completed for 263 patients including 198 ( 75.3 % ) new cases , 53 ( 20.2 % ) recurrent cases and 12 ( 4.5 % ) resistant cases . The overall incidence was estimated at 228.9/100,000 ( female 15 - 65year old population ) corresponding to 47,755 cases annually managed by gynaecologists in France . The average treatment cost was 482.70euro for society and 342.40 euro for third-party payers . The annual direct cost of genital warts management was estimated at 23,051,339euro , of which 16,351,312euro was funded by the French health care system . DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The costs of treating genital warts are considerable . The introduction of a quadrivalent ( type 6,11,16,18 ) Human Papillomavirus vaccine including types responsible for 90 % of genital warts could potentially substantially reduce these costs The purpose of this double-blind , placebo-controlled , comparative study was to evaluate the specific clinical efficacy and tolerance of human leukocyte interferon-α ( 2 × l06 IU/g ) and podophyllotoxin 0.5 % incorporated in a hydrophilic cream to cure genital warts . Preselected Asian women ( n=60 ) aged 18–40 years ( mean 22.9 ) , with a clinical and biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of genital warts , harboring 322 lesions ( mean 5.36 ) were r and omly assigned to three parallel groups to receive one of the two test drugs or placebo . Each patient received a preceded tube ( 40 g ) containing either human leukocyte interferon-α , podophyllotoxin , or identically appearing placebo cream for 3 days ' usage . In addition to written instructions , each subject was shown how to apply a minimal amount of trial medication on their lesions thrice daily for 3 consecutive days per week ( maximum nine topical applications per week ) . Patients were examined on a weekly basis , and a cure was considered to be a biopsy-confirmed , total elimination of a lesion . Moreover , patients cured during the study period were spared further therapy , and were requested to return in 16 weeks to monitor for the occurrence of a relapse . The remaining patients ' empty tubes were collected , and similarly precoded replacement tubes were given to continue the treatment ; a total of 214 tubes were used . The study was scheduled for 16 weeks with 4 weeks of active treatment . Individuals were excluded from the study due to pregnancy , breast feeding , or the receiving of any type of antiviral therapy during the 4 weeks preceding enrollment . Better results were obtained with leukocyte interferon-α cream than with podophyllotoxin both in terms of the number of cured patients ( 18/20 vs. 12/20 , or 90 % vs. 60 % ; P<0.0285 ) and the number of eliminated lesions ( 105/110 ) vs. 87/108 , or 95.5 % vs. 80.5 % ; P<0.001 . In the placebo group 4/20 ( 20 % ) patients were cured , indicating lower results . Out of the 60 patients 51 ( 85 % ) complained of no drug-related symptomatic side effects . However , the most frequent non objective adverse symptoms experienced by the patients were mild tenderness 4/60 ( 6.6 % ) , burning sensation 3/60 ( 5 % ) , and transitory increase in body temperature ( > 38 ° C ) accompanied by headache and itching 2/60 ( 3.3 % ) . None of the patients suffering from these side effects elected to discontinue the study . The patients were evaluated for 1 year after the initial visit , and among the 34/60 ( 56.6 % ) cured patients two had a relapse after 9 months . In conclusion , the clinical results of this study demonstrate that leukocyte interferon-α ( 2 × l06 IU/g ) is more efficacious than 0.5 % podophyllotoxin and placebo in hydrophilic cream , and substantiates that along with mild , non objective , transient , localized , adverse symptoms , human leukocyte α-interferon therapy is more effective and better than podophyllotoxin in cream for curing genital warts in PURPOSE Genital warts are a highly prevalent and chronic sexually transmitted disease for which there is no completely satisfactory therapy . Conventional ablative therapy requires repeated treatment , often for months or years . This study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 0.5 % podofilox in patient-administered treatment of  penile warts .  PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-eight men with penile warts were r and omly assigned to double-blind , self-administration of 0.5 % podofilox solution or placebo , twice daily for 3 days per week for 4 weeks . Eleven podofilox and 15 placebo recipients with residual warts then received an additional 4 weeks of open-label treatment . RESULTS By the end of treatment , podofilox recipients had their mean wart number and area reduced to 15.9 % and 5.1 % of baseline values , compared to 97.4 % and 92.9 % in the placebo group ( p = 0.0001 ) . Local adverse reactions were more common in the podofilox group , but were transient . Complete disappearance of warts was observed in 25 ( 53.3 % ) of 45 treatment courses , including open-label treatment . Recurrences of warts after therapy were frequent . Only 21 % of patients remained free of warts 2 weeks after completing treatment , and subsequent recurrences were noted in all patients available for long-term follow-up , which is a common limitation of ablative therapy for genital warts . CONCLUSION Podofilox 0.5 % solution is effective in treating penile warts and is well tolerated in a self-administered regimen . Podofilox 0.5 % offers potential advantages in safety and cost over podophyllin resin therapy of genital warts BACKGROUND Genital warts are a well-recognized clinical entity and a disease of great antiquity that differ from skin warts both histologically and antigenically . It is a common sexually transmitted disease of high prevalence all over the world . Women are more likely to be unaware of such warts because it is harder for them to examine their genitalia . OBJECTIVE The purpose of this multicenter , double-blind , placebo-controlled study was to compare the clinical efficacy and tolerance of 0.3 % and 0.5 % podophyllotoxin in a cream emulsion ( castor oil , BP as vehicle ) to cure genital condylomata in women . METHODS Preselected ( n = 80 ) Asian females ( mean age 23.6 years ) , harboring 544 warts ( mean 6.8 in number ) , ranging from 1 to 9 mm in size ( mean 2.1 mm ) with biopsy-proven diagnosis of condylomata acuminata were r and omly allocated to three groups ( 30 + 30 + 20 ) . At home the patients applied the given trial medication themselves ( using the finger ) twice a day , for 3 consecutive days per week , and if not cured the same course was extended to 3 more weeks , in total 24 topical applications for 4 weeks . The patients were examined on a weekly basis , and a total regression of warts ( biopsy-proven ) was evaluated as complete cure . RESULTS By the end of the study , the placebo group ( 20 patients , bearing 124 warts ) did not show any regression or clinical efficacy , while 41/60 patients ( 68.3 % ) and 349/420 warts ( 83 % ) were cured in the 0.3 % and 0.5 % treatment groups ( placebo vs. active groups p < 0.001 ) . Patients using the 0.5 % active medication had substantially more eliminated warts ( 205/349 , 95.8 % ) than the 0.3 % group ( 70 % ) . Localized adverse symptoms were mild to moderate and were well tolerated by the patients with no dropout . Forty-three patients ( 53.8 % ) did not show any adverse reaction . The most frequent adverse symptoms were tenderness ( 23/80 , 28.8 % ) and burning sensation ( 14/80 , 17.5 % ) . Among 41/80 ( 51.25 % ) cured patients 4 had a relapse after 16 weeks . CONCLUSION Along with mild , tolerable side effects the study demonstrates that 0.5 % podophyllotoxin cream is more efficacious than 0.3 % ( p < 0.01 ) and can be considered as a reliable home-based treatment Background The approximately 1100 medical journals now active in China are publishing a rapidly increasing number of research reports , including many studies identified by their authors as r and omized controlled trials . It has been noticed that these reports mostly present positive results , and their quality and authenticity have consequently been called into question . We investigated the adequacy of r and omization  of clinical trials published in recent years in China to determine how many of them met acceptable st and ards for allocating participants to treatment groups . Methods The China National Knowledge Infrastructure electronic data base was search ed for reports of r and omized controlled trials on 20 common diseases published from January 1994 to June 2005 . From this sample , a subset of trials that appeared to have used r and omization methods was selected . Twenty-one investigators trained in the relevant knowledge , communication skills and quality control issues interviewed the original authors of these trials about the participant r and omization methods and related quality -control features of their trials . Results From an initial sample of 37,313 articles identified in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure data base , we found 3137 apparent r and omized controlled trials . Of these , 1452 were studies of conventional medicine ( published in 411 journals ) and 1685 were studies of traditional Chinese medicine ( published in 352 journals ) . Interviews with the authors of 223 
    Output:
    
Analysis by MTC indicated that ablative techniques were typically more effective than topical interventions at completely clearing AGWs at the end of treatment .
The results generated by the MTC are in agreement with consensus opinion that ablative techniques are clinical ly more effective at completely clearing AGWs after treatment .
The results of the economic analysis suggest that podophyllotoxin 0.5 % solution is likely to represent a cost-effective first-line treatment option .
No treatment and podophyllin are unlikely to be considered cost-effective treatment options .