ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07210775Updated Mar 4, 2026

Topical Imiquimod Treatment of Oral Dysplasia

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Imiquimod (topical use) in Oral Dysplasia, Leukoplakia Oral and Leukoplakia, sponsored by University of Southern California. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-04.

Sponsored by University of Southern California · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Oct 2025; still recruiting 1 year 1 month later.
Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of imiquimod in treating oral dysplasia in adult patients. Imiquimod 5% cream could be a safe and practical treatment for oral epithelial dysplasia (a precancerous change in the mouth). The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Does imiquimod help to make the lesions smaller and make the abnormal cell changes less severe?
  2. How can we make this treatment safer and more feasible?

Participants will apply topical imiquimod cream to treat the oral dysplasia and receive two follow-up biopsies after the treatment.

02

Conditions studied

  • Oral Dysplasia
  • Leukoplakia Oral
  • Leukoplakia

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Keywords

  • oral dysplasia
  • leukoplakia
  • prevent cancer
  • topical application
03

In context

Leukoplakia

21 studies on the registry are indexed under Leukoplakia; 7 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 35 across 12 interventional studies indexed under Leukoplakia.

Browse Leukoplakia studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Southern California is the lead sponsor of 791 studies on the registry; 136 are open to participants now.

Of its 70 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 32 (46%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • The patient has a -proven diagnosis of oral epithelial dysplasia.
  • The patient is ineligible for or unwilling to undergo surgical or laser therapy.
  • The patient is over 18 years old.
  • The patient agrees to join the study and completes the process.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The patient has OL, and excisional surgical removal is indicated.
  • The patient is .
  • The patient is under 18 years old.
  • The patient refused to join the study or did not complete the process.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Patients have topical imiquimod applied to oral dysplasia site

    Drug: Imiquimod (topical use)

Interventions

  • Participants will be prescribed imiquimod 5% cream, with instructions to apply the cream with soft tray or gauze daily for one hour, five days a week (Monday to Friday). 6 week as one course and additional course may be added based on participant's conditions and consent. 2 follow up biopsies are scheduled 6 months and 12 months after the start of the treatment course.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Effectiveness by Clinical Response

    Clinical response: Change in the size of the lesion. Measurement of the lesion and scored according to RECIST criteria

    Time frame: 52 weeks after the start of the participant's treatment course

  2. Effectiveness by histopathological assessment

    Evaluation of the changes of degree of dysplasia following the WHO three-tier grading of oral dysplasia in which Oral epithelial dysplasia is graded as mild, moderate, and severe.

    Time frame: 52 weeks after the start of participant's treatment course

Secondary outcomes

  1. Frequency of Adverse Effects

    Percentage of participants experienced at least 1 adverse events

    Time frame: 24 months

  2. Manageability of Adverse effects

    Percentage of adverse effect can not be managed by OTC medication

    Time frame: 24 months

  3. Treatment Adherence

    Percentage of patient with treatment adherence (≥80% Day adherence)

    Time frame: 24 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • OralCare PreCancer and Pain Clinic
    Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Sroussi H, Villa A, Alhadlaq MA, Ikeda K, Veluppillai S, Treister N, Monreal AV, Vacharotayangul P, Lodolo M, Woo SB. Imiquimod for the treatment of oral leukoplakia: A two-center retrospective study. Oral Dis. 2025 Feb;31(2):444-451. doi: 10.1111/odi.15069. Epub 2024 Jul 15. PubMed 39007165 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 4, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07210775
Responsible party
Anette Vistoso Monreal (Director of OralCare PreCancer and Pain Clinic, University of Southern California) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 7, 2025
Start date
Oct 1, 2025
Primary completion
Oct 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 4, 2026

Study contacts

Anette Vistoso Monreal
Contact
avistoso@ostrow.usc.edu
(213) 821-0148

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Studies of the drug tested here: Imiquimod

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